"Modern" Music to Check Out

[Geoff]

Not really new but have you heard Every Avenue's Picture Perfect?

Yeah, it's a nice disc. A million miles better than the debut for sure. Ranked close to my top 10 last year. I think it may even have made it in there. Actually just bought the hard copy of this CD last week. Good stuff.

[Geoff]

Okay, a few more additions to the 2010 files. Some more goodies, without being great:

 

Allister - 'Countdown to nowhere'

 

Tracklist:

 

1. Failure

2. Runaway

3. Dance With Me

4. All We Needed

5. Breathe For You

6. Make It Work

7. Can't Let Go

8. Yearbook

9. Free

10. Start Somewhere

11. Diamond Ring

12. Tokyo Sunrise

13. I Want You Back (Jackson 5 cover)

 

http://www.myspace.com/allister

 

It's been a few years between releases for these guys. I've heard their previous releases but didn't like bundles of tracks. They were always a bit too punk for me. But this CD's about as consistent as I've ever heard them. They are a little more melodic/commercial than before and that sort of style is spread throughout the whole CD - not just a couple of good tunes mixed with punk crap. It's not an amazing CD by any stretch, but worth checking out, imo. Some good catchy choruses on here.

 

Mercy Mercedes - 'Believe it'

 

Tracklist:

 

01. Drop Top

02. Believe It

03. The Perfect Scene

04. Heart Racer

05. You Never Know

06. Only You

07. All We've Ever Known

08. Outta Time

09. Lucky

10. Shiver Me Timbers

11. Ways To Go

 

http://a2p.im/goto.php?url=myspace.com/mercymercedes

 

This is a pretty good one. If you like the pop-punk stuff like We The Kings etc, this is worth a go. Great production, good songs. Nothing bad about this at all if it's your thing. I dig it.

 

A Phoenix Forever - 'This is why we can't have nice things'

 

Tracklist:

 

01. Phoenix Down

02. That Band Sucks But They're Cool Dudes

03. Let It Grow

04. Not Alright, Bro

05. The Way Back Home

06. Avada Kedavra

07. Sunshine

08. Butterflies

09. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

10. Weekendie

 

http://www.myspace.com/aphoenixforever

 

Surprisingly good one, this one. Again, it's the pop/punk rock kind of thing with some admittedly pretty unfortunate vocals. But there are some nice sharp guitar attacks and some great tunes with great catchy choruses. Yeah, this one surprised me. Recommended. At least for a check-out.

 

Rookie of the year - 'The most beautiful'

 

Tracklist:

 

01. Run Away

02. Frustrated (Hurricane)

03. Turn The Page (100 Miles)

04. Bizarre Love Triangle

05. Don't Tear Me Apart

06. Spinning Around

07. Stars Fade Blue

08. Take These Words

 

http://a2p.im/goto.php?url=myspace.com/rookieoftheyear

 

Seen this band around before but for whatever reason I never checked them out. I will have to try to check out their other CDs as I really like this one. There was one filler in this lot ('Spinning around') but the rest was great, emotive mellow rock. Mostly acoustic, but some really well written tunes here. Loved it.

 

Under the Flood - 'Alive in the fire'

http://www.myspace.com/undertheflood

 

This one's not bad either. Good solid modern rock, for the Daughtry-styled stuff out there. I wouldn't call it mind-blowing, but this is a good collection of modern rock tunes sure to please fans of the genre.

[Glen]

Im still struggling with modern rock in 2010.

 

The only real release of any quality is Story Of The Year.

 

There have been a few good releases like Dive and Destine etc but these arent really world beaters by any stretch

 

Pinning hopes on Hinder and Disciple being awesome otherwise it will be a write-off year.

 

And some said that 2009 was weak?! Well in comparison to 2010, 2009 was awesome lol!

 

[also still interested to hear the Madam Adam debut....should be due late summer. Ive been following their video blogs and there are some pretty cool songs on there. Could be a good one]

[Geoff]

Im still struggling with modern rock in 2010.

 

The only real release of any quality is Story Of The Year.

 

There have been a few good releases like Dive and Destine etc but these arent really world beaters by any stretch

 

Pinning hopes on Hinder and Disciple being awesome otherwise it will be a write-off year.

 

And some said that 2009 was weak?! Well in comparison to 2010, 2009 was awesome lol!

 

[also still interested to hear the Madam Adam debut....should be due late summer. Ive been following their video blogs and there are some pretty cool songs on there. Could be a good one]

Yeah, I still like Before Their Eyes and the new Kids in Glass Houses CD is really good too. Did you check out this thread I made the other day? Very good stuff:

http://heavyharmonies.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=24923

[Geoff]

This post is pretty much for Justin, Shamus and Night Train only... and if there's any other members out there with a hidden love for modern rock bands along the lines of Boys Like Girls and Forever The Sickest Kids etc. The more pop rock side of the spectrum is what I speak of.

 

I recently did a bit of a search on Last FM to find some similar bands, and I must admit that - even only halfway through my results - I have been very successful. The bad news? A LOT of these are EPs. The worse news. A lot of them are digitial only. But not all of them. Check these doods out, doods. Stick with me too if my memory is a little dodgy:

 

My Girl Friday - We are... ; this was superb! I think it had quite a few songs too, maybe 7 or so. Close to a full album. But these dudes are right up there with the real good 'uns. All the songs, I believe, were great.

 

Out of Sight - Where do we go from here ; can't remember specifically, but this was a good one too.

 

Parade the Day - To keep us moving EP ; very nice EP.

 

Racing Kites - Be my runaway EP, Right here right now EP, We hold it all together EP ; only heard a couple of their songs but they sound very impressive too

 

Runner Runner - s/t ; loved this one. They have a s/t album but also s/t demo or EP... got a few songs mixed up in terms of sound quality, but these guys are good.

 

Save your Breath - Nothing worth having comes easy EP ; loved this one. A bit more balls with these guys, and it's only a short EP... but very impressive.

 

Summerlin - So make your move EP ; probably my favourite of the lot. Looks like they have an album due soon, but these guys are killer.

 

Valet Parking - Blackout ; another very good one. Not quite as dynamic as a few of these, but a real good feel to them if you like this style.

 

Call the Cops - s/t ; a bit more of those pesky dance beat in this one. I have this album coming to me in the mail so I'll make a final call on just how significant the dance influence is... but songwise they sounded good.

 

Late Night Habit - The single life EP ; another good one. Probably the least spectacular of the lot, but a good band. Worth checking out.

 

Good luck doods, hope you find something good in this lot... there's some real good 'uns. Especially Summerlin and My Girl Friday.

[TIM (2)]

Anyone picked up the new SIMPLE PLAN yet? Soundbytes sound pretty cool...

[Geoff]

Anyone picked up the new SIMPLE PLAN yet? Soundbytes sound pretty cool...

I didn't know it was out yet... must check out asap. I love the single.

[JC_AOR]

This post is pretty much for Justin, Shamus and Night Train only... and if there's any other members out there with a hidden love for modern rock bands along the lines of Boys Like Girls and Forever The Sickest Kids etc. The more pop rock side of the spectrum is what I speak of.

 

I recently did a bit of a search on Last FM to find some similar bands, and I must admit that - even only halfway through my results - I have been very successful. The bad news? A LOT of these are EPs. The worse news. A lot of them are digitial only. But not all of them. Check these doods out, doods. Stick with me too if my memory is a little dodgy:

 

My Girl Friday - We are... ; this was superb! I think it had quite a few songs too, maybe 7 or so. Close to a full album. But these dudes are right up there with the real good 'uns. All the songs, I believe, were great.

 

Out of Sight - Where do we go from here ; can't remember specifically, but this was a good one too.

 

Parade the Day - To keep us moving EP ; very nice EP.

 

Racing Kites - Be my runaway EP, Right here right now EP, We hold it all together EP ; only heard a couple of their songs but they sound very impressive too

 

Runner Runner - s/t ; loved this one. They have a s/t album but also s/t demo or EP... got a few songs mixed up in terms of sound quality, but these guys are good.

 

Save your Breath - Nothing worth having comes easy EP ; loved this one. A bit more balls with these guys, and it's only a short EP... but very impressive.

 

Summerlin - So make your move EP ; probably my favourite of the lot. Looks like they have an album due soon, but these guys are killer.

 

Valet Parking - Blackout ; another very good one. Not quite as dynamic as a few of these, but a real good feel to them if you like this style.

 

Call the Cops - s/t ; a bit more of those pesky dance beat in this one. I have this album coming to me in the mail so I'll make a final call on just how significant the dance influence is... but songwise they sounded good.

 

Late Night Habit - The single life EP ; another good one. Probably the least spectacular of the lot, but a good band. Worth checking out.

 

Good luck doods, hope you find something good in this lot... there's some real good 'uns. Especially Summerlin and My Girl Friday.

 

Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I've tracked down most of these now and will let you know what I think. You're right though, only three of these I could find on CD, the rest downloads only. With the band Sve Your Breath, I found a 2011 release called 'Vices' with 11 tracks. Playing it now.

[Geoff]

This post is pretty much for Justin, Shamus and Night Train only... and if there's any other members out there with a hidden love for modern rock bands along the lines of Boys Like Girls and Forever The Sickest Kids etc. The more pop rock side of the spectrum is what I speak of.

 

I recently did a bit of a search on Last FM to find some similar bands, and I must admit that - even only halfway through my results - I have been very successful. The bad news? A LOT of these are EPs. The worse news. A lot of them are digitial only. But not all of them. Check these doods out, doods. Stick with me too if my memory is a little dodgy:

 

My Girl Friday - We are... ; this was superb! I think it had quite a few songs too, maybe 7 or so. Close to a full album. But these dudes are right up there with the real good 'uns. All the songs, I believe, were great.

 

Out of Sight - Where do we go from here ; can't remember specifically, but this was a good one too.

 

Parade the Day - To keep us moving EP ; very nice EP.

 

Racing Kites - Be my runaway EP, Right here right now EP, We hold it all together EP ; only heard a couple of their songs but they sound very impressive too

 

Runner Runner - s/t ; loved this one. They have a s/t album but also s/t demo or EP... got a few songs mixed up in terms of sound quality, but these guys are good.

 

Save your Breath - Nothing worth having comes easy EP ; loved this one. A bit more balls with these guys, and it's only a short EP... but very impressive.

 

Summerlin - So make your move EP ; probably my favourite of the lot. Looks like they have an album due soon, but these guys are killer.

 

Valet Parking - Blackout ; another very good one. Not quite as dynamic as a few of these, but a real good feel to them if you like this style.

 

Call the Cops - s/t ; a bit more of those pesky dance beat in this one. I have this album coming to me in the mail so I'll make a final call on just how significant the dance influence is... but songwise they sounded good.

 

Late Night Habit - The single life EP ; another good one. Probably the least spectacular of the lot, but a good band. Worth checking out.

 

Good luck doods, hope you find something good in this lot... there's some real good 'uns. Especially Summerlin and My Girl Friday.

 

Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I've tracked down most of these now and will let you know what I think. You're right though, only three of these I could find on CD, the rest downloads only. With the band Sve Your Breath, I found a 2011 release called 'Vices' with 11 tracks. Playing it now.

Nice, thanks mate. That was a great EP. Will check out the album too.

[Geoff]

Hey Justin, another one for you:

 

Amely - 'Hello World' ; another good one, in the stlye of Boys Like Girls mixed with There For Tomorrow, for example. Excellently produced 8 track album without a filler in sight. Not quite in the league of BLG, but a very good little album this one.

 

FYI, I'll probably have a few more popping up. As I said in another thread, I went onto Last FM one night and made a list of about 50 bands that sounded like something I might like. I bought what physical copies I could from Secondspin and then downloaded most the download only ones and a few others. So, even though that's quite a list to get started above, I still have at least that many CDs to get through, and probably even more unheard downloads. Who knows, maybe the rest is rubbish, but I'll find out... eventually, and let you know.

[Geoff]

And I'll keep this rolling through as long as a disc impresses me:

 

Artist Vs Poet - 'Favorite Fix' ; when this one started out I thought I probably wouldn't pass it on. The first two tracks are very average peices of pop rock and did not impress. But I have to say, as this one went on it proved to be quite the success. Probably not as good as many above, as it's more in that My Favorite Highway kind of pop rock style... which is nice, but not quite as good as some other more explosive bands out there. And a lot of these verses were pretty mid-range, but I did find that there were some killer choruses along the way. I managed to pick this one up for a good price, so if you can do the same, give them a red hot go.

[Geoff]

Call the Cops - s/t ; a bit more of those pesky dance beat in this one. I have this album coming to me in the mail so I'll make a final call on just how significant the dance influence is... but songwise they sounded good.

Okay, so I got and played the CD (on Myspace Records - WTF??) and I have to say, it's a real good one. I would definitely advise one to check the samples before buying it, because there is a presence throughout the whole disc:

 

www.myspace.com/callthecops

 

Oh, and whatever you do, avoid their debut EP like hell. That one's about 80% dance, 20% rock. The full album is nowhere near that strong in the beats department. I think there were about 2 songs ('White dress' was one of them) that were just way to heavy on the dance to handle, but otherwise they're pretty good pop rock songs. Of the whole lot I bought/downloaded recently, when these guys are on they actually probably remind me most of BLG. Some really great pop-rock tunes on this CD.

[JC_AOR]

Hey Justin, another one for you:

 

Amely - 'Hello World' ; another good one, in the stlye of Boys Like Girls mixed with There For Tomorrow, for example. Excellently produced 8 track album without a filler in sight. Not quite in the league of BLG, but a very good little album this one.

 

FYI, I'll probably have a few more popping up. As I said in another thread, I went onto Last FM one night and made a list of about 50 bands that sounded like something I might like. I bought what physical copies I could from Secondspin and then downloaded most the download only ones and a few others. So, even though that's quite a list to get started above, I still have at least that many CDs to get through, and probably even more unheard downloads. Who knows, maybe the rest is rubbish, but I'll find out... eventually, and let you know.

 

Excellent, keep 'em coming... I've been tracking down everything you recommended so far (in one form or another). The few I have heard so far have been really catchy. I can't stop playing the two albums by The Maine at the moment so I'll try and listen to some of these new recommendations on my days off.

[Geoff]

Save your Breath - Nothing worth having comes easy EP ; loved this one. A bit more balls with these guys, and it's only a short EP... but very impressive.

Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I've tracked down most of these now and will let you know what I think. You're right though, only three of these I could find on CD, the rest downloads only. With the band Sve Your Breath, I found a 2011 release called 'Vices' with 11 tracks. Playing it now.

Nice, thanks mate. That was a great EP. Will check out the album too.

Hey Justin, what did you think of 'Vices?' I have to admit, I was very pleasantly surprised. It's not perfect the whole way through and bits of the 2nd half, whilst not being bad, are a little unmemorable. But wow, is it just me or does this band sound more like Cauterize than any I've heard? I was hearing a huge Cauterize vibe on a few of these songs. Yeah, I definitely like this one.

 

One more good 'un I'm listening to the CD of:

 

Schoolboy Humor - s/t (2009) ; this one is quite nice indeed. A few songs did end up leaving me hanging, waiting for that killer hook that was promised by the rest of the song, so it's not flawless by any means. But thesed guys have a really cool sound. If you like Mayday Parade / Go Radio and Houston Calls, then you should certainly check these guys out.

[Nightrain]

sorry forgot to check this sub-forum, looks like lots of recommendation there

will track down one by one

[JC_AOR]

Save your Breath - Nothing worth having comes easy EP ; loved this one. A bit more balls with these guys, and it's only a short EP... but very impressive.

Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I've tracked down most of these now and will let you know what I think. You're right though, only three of these I could find on CD, the rest downloads only. With the band Sve Your Breath, I found a 2011 release called 'Vices' with 11 tracks. Playing it now.

Nice, thanks mate. That was a great EP. Will check out the album too.

Hey Justin, what did you think of 'Vices?' I have to admit, I was very pleasantly surprised. It's not perfect the whole way through and bits of the 2nd half, whilst not being bad, are a little unmemorable. But wow, is it just me or does this band sound more like Cauterize than any I've heard? I was hearing a huge Cauterize vibe on a few of these songs. Yeah, I definitely like this one.

 

One more good 'un I'm listening to the CD of:

 

Schoolboy Humor - s/t (2009) ; this one is quite nice indeed. A few songs did end up leaving me hanging, waiting for that killer hook that was promised by the rest of the song, so it's not flawless by any means. But thesed guys have a really cool sound. If you like Mayday Parade / Go Radio and Houston Calls, then you should certainly check these guys out.

 

Yeah 'Vices' had some great songs on it. 'The Lost Boys' is my favourite and 'Vices', 'Stay Young' and 'You're a Rebel, Alright' are pretty cool tracks too. Just been playing 'Racing Kites' and 'Parade the Day' - both very cool bands. I'm really liking 'My Girl Friday' too, but only have a 4 track EP.

[Geoff]

The Bigger Lights - 'Battle Hymn' ; surprise new (8 track) release from these guys, who only released their debut last year. A surprise in 2 ways - 1, it is so soon after the debut and 2, they sound completely different... though still with the same personel, pretty much. This CD deadset sounds like Eden's Curse playing modern rock. The vocalists are so similar (this dude's voice sounds different to what I remember of their pop punk debut) and the band have gone for a more direct hard rock approach this time around. Not heard the full thing yet, but from what I have heard it's not bad. Maybe one to check out on the side?

[JC_AOR]

Still Echo

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/stillecho?sk=app_178091127385

 

http://www.myspace.com/stillechoofficial

 

These dudes are heavy, very heavy at times. A mix of clean vocals and lots of screaming as well. Not usually my thing but I am enjoying this a lot. Really good stuff and worth checking out for sure.

 

 

[TIM (2)]

Still Echo

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/stillecho?sk=app_178091127385

 

http://www.myspace.com/stillechoofficial

 

These dudes are heavy, very heavy at times. A mix of clean vocals and lots of screaming as well. Not usually my thing but I am enjoying this a lot. Really good stuff and worth checking out for sure.

 

 

 

Wow, nice find. Like this sort of clean/screaming vocal stuff and this sounds like a good one....

[Geoff]

yeah, very cool band. Like i said to justin the other day, these guys remind me of dead by april, who are also great.

[TIM (2)]

yeah, very cool band. Like i said to justin the other day, these guys remind me of dead by april, who are also great.

 

This one says it's "digital only". Fucking kids with their fucking scene haircuts and their fucking "digital-only" attitude. If I'm going to pay money the least they can do it is record it onto a CD and have a fucking postman deliver it to my house. Wankers. Nice music though.

[Geoff]

yeah, very cool band. Like i said to justin the other day, these guys remind me of dead by april, who are also great.

 

This one says it's "digital only". Fucking kids with their fucking scene haircuts and their fucking "digital-only" attitude. If I'm going to pay money the least they can do it is record it onto a CD and have a fucking postman deliver it to my house. Wankers. Nice music though.

Your so July 2011. Get with the times. It's August.

[Glen]

yeah, very cool band. Like i said to justin the other day, these guys remind me of dead by april, who are also great.

 

This one says it's "digital only". Fucking kids with their fucking scene haircuts and their fucking "digital-only" attitude. If I'm going to pay money the least they can do it is record it onto a CD and have a fucking postman deliver it to my house. Wankers. Nice music though.

Your so July 2011. Get with the times. It's August.

 

Theres no point in producing a 'cd' as their target market will only download it illegally anyway ;-)) Sad but true......

 

Most of their revenue will come through ticket sales and merchandising at live performances.

[TIM (2)]

yeah, very cool band. Like i said to justin the other day, these guys remind me of dead by april, who are also great.

 

This one says it's "digital only". Fucking kids with their fucking scene haircuts and their fucking "digital-only" attitude. If I'm going to pay money the least they can do it is record it onto a CD and have a fucking postman deliver it to my house. Wankers. Nice music though.

Your so July 2011. Get with the times. It's August.

 

Theres no point in producing a 'cd' as their target market will only download it illegally anyway ;-)) Sad but true......

 

Most of their revenue will come through ticket sales and merchandising at live performances.

 

They won't get many people seeing them live if they don't actually get their music out there. I will go and see them live, but not to buy merch, I'll be going to tell them face-to-face that they are lazy wankers and should make the effort to record their music properly. And to punch them in the face for using hair-straighteners. Bands playing post-hardcore music used to look like Crowbar or Hatebreed. These days they look like the Backstreet Boys.

[Geoff]

Well, on paper, 2013 could not possibly have got off to a better start in terms of new releases in modern rock. A heap of the big guns - many who have been around for over 10 years now, wow how time flies - all released, or are releasing new albums already, in January/Feb. A list of bands to have a disc out or out soon:

 

Black Veil Brides - 'Wretched And Divine - The Story Of The Wild Ones'

Bullet For My Valentine - 'Temper Temper'

Funeral For A Friend - 'Conduit'

Red - 'Release The Panic'

Silverstein - 'This Is How The Wind Shifts'

The Used - 'Vulnerable II'

Trapt - 'Reborn'

 

After being lucky enough to give them all a quick once-over, here's my first impressions for those interested:

 

 

Black Veil Brides - 'Wretched And Divine - The Story Of The Wild Ones' ; gotta say, this is probably the best here. Stronger, heavier production and the vocals don't sound anywhere near as bad this time around. My biggest issue with the last disc was just that he didn't sound interested - much better this time around. The songs are generally pretty big and "anthemic." Still not perfect by any means, but a pretty damn good disc. Only issue I had was the constant interludes. Almost better downloading this album, just deleting all the non-songs so you have a good, nicely flowing album.

 

Bullet For My Valentine - 'Temper Temper' ; probably the one I looked forward to the most. This is either the 2nd best, or best of the lot. Musically and production wise, this may be their heaviest CD yet? Their previous discs are all heavy, but possibly "over-produced." This one is the fullest, heaviest production yet. The album sounds huge. And finally, after years of wishing it, the album is basically all clean vocals. Still very aggressive, but all clean and very few screams. So all the elements are here for this to be their best album yet, and it is consistently good to very good. But I gotta say, by the end I was just hoping for one or two real stand out songs. All their CDs have at least those 2 or 3 tracks which tear the album apart. This one's missing that. As always, no fillers. Good, strong songs, but I didn't hear a real stand out first time around. Love this guitarist too.

 

Funeral For A Friend - 'Conduit' ; not sure what to say about these guys. I love them and their first 3 discs are modern rock/metal classics. I know those 3 albums and all their songs inside out. The next 3 albums, I barely recall a song off them. I have enjoyed the last 2 albums, and this disc has a handful or really strong choruses, but what I'm missing these days is the bands pride in their songs. The verses here are generally just scrappy fast and kinda sloppy slabs of metal/punk, and the songs are completely reliant on the choruses to either save or completely desert the song. Several times, I missed a chorus or hook all together. In fact, the first 2 songs on the CD pass by without a hint of a moment. This album will have a few choruses that will grow on me, but based on first spins, this is their weakest CD yet and sounds like a CD they just put out because it was time, rather than a CD they wrote with passion, recorded with passion and released with intent to blow their fans' minds. Just a really average effort by a great band.

 

Red - 'Release The Panic' ; very nice effort this one. Sounds a lot more varied than previous discs. Different tempos, good hooks. Sounds like it may be a good winner.

 

Silverstein - 'This Is How The Wind Shifts' ; after their mishap that was the 'Short Songs' album, glad to see these guys return so soon with a full length disc. These guys make it pretty simple. Either you like them, or you don't. This album is exactly the same in style to their classic 'Discovering the waterfront' CD. Sure, nothing since has matched that disc, but they've stayed true to their sound and are still here, screams and all, creating good music. This is better than 'A Shipwreck in the sand' and possibly better than 'Rescue' too. A good return to form and if you like these guys you'll like this. If you haven't liked them before, don't bother with this. On a side note, the "ambient" middle section was something new for them...

 

The Used - 'Vulnerable II' ; just a re-release of last year's disc, but with a 2nd disc containing mostly remixes and stuff. However, there are 4 new/unreleased songs, and it's worth noting that they're 4 damn good songs - even better than a lot of the stuff from the very solid 'Vulnerable' disc. Worth downloading the new tunes if you're a fan of the band.

 

Trapt - 'Reborn' ; never was a huge fan of this band and it seems like a while since I heard them. But I've never disliked them and still think they're worth a listen. First few songs into this I thought we had a winner. Pretty soon they resort to their old ways and what you get in the end is pretty much exactly what you'd expect if you tried this. It's solid modern rock... kinda still edging towards that nu-metal sound. But it's not bad. The first few songs are pretty good and zomfg GASP! there is actually an uptempo song on here. Pretty damn good too - they should try it more often. Anyway, it's not too bad. Not overly worth checking out, though.