#1 band that needs to get back together and do something big: @saosin.
for most, saosin was first famous because living legend anthony green was in it. this was before circa survive, obviously, and at the time the five-piece was something along the lines of post-hardcore: moderate amounts of high screaming, but primarily a hard rock sensibility paired with green’s unbelievable voice.
green left in 2004, either to start circa or because saosin signed to a major label, and cove reber stepped in. he was and continues to be a GOOD vocalist with a strong voice and stage presence, but the parts written for/by him seemed out of his range. it’s evident in their live shows that reber had to fight to hit some of the high notes, and near the end of his time with the band there were rumors that he needed autotune to even be presentable on stage.
whether by choice or by circumstance, however, once green left, there effectively ceased to be screaming in any saosin tracks. in my mind, this took saosin out from the middle of the already super crowded post-hardcore genre and propelled reber, guitarists justin shekoski [lead] and beau burchell [rhythm], bassist chris sorenson, and wunderkind drummer alex rodriguez straight to the forefront of modern rock.
2006’s self titled LP, Saosin, turned out to be one of the most rock-solid rock albums i’ve ever laid ears on, especially with the unforgettable single, Voices . the musical arrangements are first rate, with little in the way of needless experimentation. in short: saosin knew what they were good at, capitalized on it, and delivered a knockout rock album.
the follow up LP, In Search of Solid Ground, was then a disappointment. It is a strong album in many ways, but it seemed that saosin had lost its edge where it counted: musicianship. solid ground lost the driving powerhouse drums rodriguez should have been generously doling out, and the seamlessly coordinated solos between burchell and shekoski were almost completely eliminated. reber still had hard parts to sing though, and after years of smoking and drinking, his voice had more or less left him. reber was asked to leave the band in 2010.
saosin went dark for about a year, with each band member tending to their own lives and writing and practicing here and there. there are rumors that tilian pearson, formerly of tides of man, will be on a forthcoming saosin album, but there have been so many rumors of new vocalists and new lineups since reber left that i’ll just wait and see.
for now, voices, an excellent single from the self-titled LP:
http://bit.ly/nPrLoJ
you can find a copy of the self-titled NEW on amazon starting at 2.86! “solid ground” starts at around $10 new.
cheers,
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@manoverboardNJ defend pop-punk.
everyone and the kitchen sink has been raving about pop-punk newish-comers, man overboard. at hardly four years old, this new jersey four piece finds itself doing pretty well in influence, considering they sit squarely in a genre dominated by grizzled veterans.
but no big. touting the bold call to arms to “defend pop-punk” with outlined AKs, it’s clear that these guys are dead serious about what they do and why they do it, and it’s paid off. fans have flocked to the vocal call-and-responses of bassist nik bruzzese and guitarist zac eisenstein, the pervasive shouted gang vocals, the straightforward and raw pop-punk sensibilities, and a certain freshness and originality that is increasingly rare in the super saturated genre.
i’m gonna pick up their LPs pretty soon here. i have high expectations of these kids, since they’ve been grouped into the new wave of pop-punk with vets like NFG and the wonder years… to defend what’s not dead indeed.
check out this charming acoustic version of “love your friends, die laughing” from last year’s bamboozle:
http://bit.ly/zX0Qa9
cheers.
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comeback band of 2011: @yellowcard.
it’s been a long, winding road for yellowcard. i’ll be the first to admit that i had my doubts about the band getting back together. after all, “indefinite hiatus” is almost as painful to hear as simply “calling it quits”.
if you haven’t heard When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, you’re missing out on one of the stronger pop-punk albums of 2011. it may not be an Ocean Avenue, and certainly not a Paper Walls, but there’s enough of what i remember liking to be confident that 2012 will be an even bigger year for the almost 13 year old band. tracks like “the sound of you and me”, second single “hang you up” [and the charming music video for it], and glorious album closer “be the young” stand out among the 10 songs released in 2011. these three alone are definitely enough to put yellowcard at the top of my list for albums to look forward to in 2012 [right next to pierce the veil, and a few others]. it sounds like the band has already begun writing, with plans to enter the studio in about a week [!!!] with neal avron. yellowcard looks to be maturing in both lyrical content and depth of musicianship more and more with each album, more than can be said for a good number of their genre-mates [i mean get your “heart on”? come on…].
fun fact: the reason i got into saves the day 10 years late but just in time for the release of the stunning cd Daybreak was because of ryan and the gang from track 3 of WYTTSY, “with you around.”
check out the official acoustic video for album closer “be the young”. excellent.
http://bit.ly/AzpmB6
get When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes on amazon for just $9.99.
cheers.
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