A Thorn For Every Heart "Things Aren't So Beautiful Now" (Interscope/Kickball) Sounds like: Thursday is the Story of the Year for this band. C+
The "screamo" genre has been getting a lot of attention lately due to bands like Story of the Year, the Used, Thursday and Finch. As it is with all newly popular genres, along come a slew of bands that sound a lot like the popular bands. This isn't to say that these bands are good, but they don't really bring anything new to the table.
This is the case for A Thorn For Every Heart. Featuring the typical sugary heartbroken vocals, an occasional (seemingly mandatory) scream and a driving energetic post-hardcore sound, A Thorn For Every Heart plays right into the clich?. The band is catchy, well produced and easy to listen to, but just uses the paths that other bands have already cleared. If they can't break away they will always remain in the shadows of those bands.
- JORGE DEL PINAL
The Dillinger Escape Plan "Miss Machine" (Relapse Records) Sounds like: "Wwwaaah!" and other screams that make you wonder how the singer still has a voice. Also, hardcore with a dash of emo here and there. B-
As you open up the liner notes to the Dillinger Escape Plan's new album "Miss Machine," it's a bit surprising to see that there actually are lyrics to the tracks. Through the endless shrieks there are quality instrumentals going on. Relentlessly driving guitars come with pounding drums to complement the aggression in the vocals.
Singer Greg Puciato throws in some impressive melodies here and there between the screams, and there's quite a bit of talent when it's put toward singing. Fans of hardcore and progressive metal will really appreciate Dillinger's new album because, besides offering up the typical yelling, there's a strong musical backing.
"Machine" flows seamlessly from song to song, mainly because each song is filled start to finish with unintelligible screams. Unless you're a seasoned hardcore veteran, do not try listening to the whole album straight through - unless you're looking for a headache.
- ALICIA KRAWITZ
From First to Last "Dear Diary, My Teenage Angst Has A Body Count" (Epitaph) Sounds like: The Used, with more metal influences and a better sense of humor combined with unfortunate production. B-
From First to Last is the first "screamo" (sometimes screaming, sometimes singing, always emo) to be released by famous punk label Epitaph records. The label jumped on the musical trend a little late, but the band does show some good promise in an already quickly growing genre. The best part of "Dear Diary, My Teenage Angst has a Body Count" is it's self-deprecating realization that the band is reinventing the wheel. On "The One-Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine," the band sings about the difficulty a band faces when writing. ("What can I say to my generation that matters since so much has been said and is it right for me to be selling these ideas?")
On "Note To Self," the band sings about not living up to your own self-expectations. Despite some great original, humorous and occasionally morbid lyrics and ideas for songs, the band falls into the monotony of singing about relationships on too many songs.
The worst part about From First to Last is their poor production. It is clear that the band did not have a good budget to record. With better production or mixing, the record would be a lot better. Sadly, the band may be best known for one of its singer's current relationship with Kelly Osbourne. Ironically, the band sounds a lot like Kelly's former beau's band, the Used. So overall, From First to Last shows a lot of promise as artists but not so much as producers.
- J.D.P.
Jason Liebman and The Uprising "Escape from the Heart of Darkness" (For The Artist Records) Sounds like: Whiny guy and guitar. C
Think of every guy-with-a-guitar artist out there, and you've got the cookie-cutter artist named Jason Liebman. His group has a cool name, the album has a cool title, but the music itself is anything but. If Liebman made a video for any of the four songs on the album, it would be your typical guy standing on some street corner singing his song to some girl who can't help looking at him while sipping her coffee with friends at some caf?. All the songs are about a random girl and his feelings for her and such.
Liebman himself has a decent voice. There's nothing really bad about it, but then again, there isn't much good about it. He often tries to show off a vocal range he is just short of having, and comes across as extremely whiny. "Escape" isn't a terrible album; it's just so typical it hurts. The melodies and lyrics are so conventional and the persistent whiny vocals don't help the cause.
- ALICIA KRAWITZ
The Datsuns "Outta Sight/Outta Mind" (V2 Records) Sounds like: Primitive crap. F
You would think an album with such psychedelically colored photographs might at least be intriguing to listen to. Unfortunately, the Datsuns' latest, "Outta Sight/Outta Mind," is an uninspired bore.
The Datsuns are a New Zealand garage rock band that seems to strip all their influences down to something far from their essence. They range from sounding like the Strokes without the charm, Jet without being catchy and Aerosmith without the talent. On their sophomore effort, the Datsuns are not just derivative; they sound primitive. The band sings predominately about sex - a sometimes amusing topic they completely suck the fun from.
Song after song follows the opener and feature the exact same un-rocking formula. There is so little variety on "Outta Sight/Outta Mind" that it becomes difficult to ever know what track you're on without glancing at your CD player.
The album ends up being 40 minutes of repetitive unoriginality. Unless you're a hardcore garage rock fan, my best advice is to follow the album's title and keep this album outta sight and outta mind.
- ADAM BENDER
The Shore "The Shore" (Maverick Records) Sounds like: If Oasis were from California. C+
Once described as the best Brit-pop band from California (how many can there be?), the Shore is not exactly the most original band on the scene these days. Some people's first impressions will be that they sound like Oasis. Now, the Shore's sound is a bit more laid back and poppy than the Gallaghers', perhaps in part due to the sunshine state's weather being a tad nicer than Manchester's, but it's hard to mistake singer Ben Ashley for Liam (or John Lennon, for that matter.)
Once listeners get over how damn derivative the band is, though, it's really not that bad of an album. Most of the songs are very immediate and their sunny, relaxed nature creates a nice atmosphere when you just want to chill. Considering most college students believe chilling is vital to life, this scores the album many points. It's full of acoustic guitar strumming, string orchestrations and all of that AAA radio stuff loved by middle-aged adults struggling to stay hip.
The first half of the band's self-titled debut features the strongest content. "Firefly," a hook-filled track that throws an almost violently catchy chorus into '60s psychadelica, stands out in particular. The next track, "Take What's Mine," isn't too shabby once you get over the fact it sounds like a watered-down "Stop Crying Your Heart Out." The only exceptionably poor track is "I'll Be Your Man." Hope you didn't just cringe at the title, because that one line is just about half the lyrics. Allow me to illustrate: "Touch me, take me by the hand / Feel me, I'll be your man, I'll be your man / I'll be your man, I'll be your man."
Fortunately, the Shore has enough above-average material to forgive them this one blemish. The album isn't exactly mind blowing, but it's good background music at the very least. If you're into Brit-pop groups like Oasis or the Verve and don't get offended by copycat bands from California, you won't go wrong with the Shore.
- A.B.
