July 31st, 2007
I had a chance to sit down with (aka emailed) D.C.'s own
These
United States to ask them a few questions while
they're on tour. Needless to say, hilarity ensued.
Next stop for These United
States is the New York metro area. Be sure to check
them out at Cakeshop on August 1st and at Goodbye Blue Monday on
August 2nd if you happen to be in the area.
crazyeyes:
What's the scene like in D.C.? What are some of your favorite bands
in the area?
These
United States: Tom hates everyone, including himself.
He's a perfectionist. Jesse loves everyone, including himself. He's
a hedonist. The rest of the band hates and loves Tom and Jesse,
depending on the day and distance away from D.C. those two are. On
this particular day, Tom and Jesse are far away from Washington,
D.C., greatly increasing everyone else's opinion of them. In
general, and due partly to their ever-expanding numbers, members of
These United States are prone to like just about any given sound
that could possibly occur on the D.C. scene. It's common sense
statistics. There are like 20 people in These United States. The
band that secretly runs the entire scene is called Kitty Hawk. They
are Jedi masters of full-blown mind control. They are probably
influencing the way you are reading this sentence right now.
crazyeyes:
How's your tour going?
These
United States: Truly grandly. Just picked up a couple
young musicians from Columbus who go by Barnowls. They'll be our
rhythm section for the next several days, on the run of the tour
that culminates in a festival in Rochester this weekend. Then it's
Tom and Jesse off to the great Northeast -- Boston, Portsmouth,
Providence, and back down though NYC and Brooklyn, Philly and DC,
playing with a few other folks along the way and finally back to
the home team by those last couple shows. You should see the home
team's new uniform.
crazyeyes: We
hear there's a new album...
These
United States: You hear well. You must've been to less
shittyloud rock shows than we.
More after
the jump!
Posted in Uncategorized | by crazyeyes | No Comments »
Tagged as Interview, Robots
July 31st, 2007
Central Florida based 7 Blue Skies are
bringing their special blend of "shoeless rock" to Amie Street with
their debut album
. This modern rock group combines
elements of Heavy Metal and Hardcore with rich melodies and
textures common to Pop-Rock. Think Silverchair meets Vertical
Horizon ... or Staind meets Good Charlotte ... or just listen to it
for yourself and then think of your own clever comparison and leave
it as a comment on this post. Yeah, that's probably a good
idea.
Here's a video for
Disappearing Act
(
).
Key Tracks:
406
(
)
Cheater
(
)
Waiting
(
)
Look Up
(
)
Posted in Uncategorized | by staff | No Comments »
Tagged as Alternative, Rock
July 31st, 2007
Sheri
Miller is a New York based singer-songwriter who has
been performing at Joe's Pub, World Cafe Live, the Bluebird Cafe,
the Living Room, the Cutting Room, Makor, Rockwood Music Hall, and
Maxwell's. She has co-written songs with Grammy-winning
collaborators and recently had a song featured on the Songwriter's
Hall of Fame Compilation CD, Vol. 4. On her self-titled album
, she
highlights her strengths as both an established songwriter and
performer with strong pop songs that sound familiar and catchy, but
also have a raw edge.
Rendering bittersweet tales of inscrutable
romantic interludes, sensual yearnings, and assorted spiritual
awakenings, sultry singer-songwriter Sheri Miller fuses pop,
southern soul, gospel, and modern rock with an infectious joie de
vivre akin to classic Elton, Alicia Keys, and Shelby Lynne." [Tom
Semioli, Amplifier Magazine]
Key Tracks:
Freedom
(
)
powerful, rockin' voice with so much
energy....lots of pizazz that makes you want to get up and dance
and a force that goes right to your soul." [rec by dorsey]
Devil in White
(
)
One of the best songs on a very good
album. If you enjoy the folksy, soulful pop rock of acts such as
sheryl crow you'll like this." [rec by jwill]
Posted in Uncategorized | by staff | No Comments »
Tagged as Alternative, Pop
July 30th, 2007
Recently relocated to L.A., New Orleans born Battle Alaska
sounds a bit like
Resident Hero, My Chemical Romance, Against Me, and Atreyu. On
the band's debut album,
, Battle Alaska emerges with a
signature sound which featuring modern rock infused melodies,
frequent feel changes, melodramatic lyrics, and a good amount of
screaming. They also manage to keep a continuous narrative
throughout the course of the album -- so if you only plan on buying
a few songs, you're missing out on the full story!
Check out this review written by Kevin Wierzbicki on Campus
Circle.net:
Everyone's a Capulet ... what makes you
think you're Juliet?" That clever reference to Shakespeare's "Romeo
and Juliet" comes from Battle Alaska's "Everything's Roses," an
I've-had-enough-of-your-crap break-up song where about all that's
left of the flower is a stem of thorns. That's also a summation of
the rest of the lyrical content in this concept album that tells a
story far too complicated to go into -- let's just say that it's
sort of a scorn-and-retribution tale.
As such, it gives lead singer Zac Woodring lots of opportunities
to spit out vitriolic comments like, "It's your nails with French
tips as they dig in my skin/It's a message in lipstick, you
misspelled 'just friends.'" Woodring plays the putout soul to the
hilt, and the songs are arranged perfectly to complement that;
thundering with anger here, sobbing with self-pity there.
Whether you figure out the storyline or not, this is good stuff.
Grade: A"
Check out this montage of Battle Alaska footage at a skate park
in Malibu featuring
W.T.F.
(
).
Key Tracks:
Everything's Roses
(
)
The Apology Acceptance Speech
(
)
Posted in Uncategorized | by staff | 1 Comment »
Tagged as Alternative, Emo, Indie Rock, Rock
July 30th, 2007
Agent Double E
(aka Renée Asteria) was born in America (New Jersey to be exact)
and grew up in France with her Bolivian father and Dutch mother.
Her music is as eclectic as her multi-cultural upbringing.
is a
fitting album title considering the range of styles and languages
utilized throughout the record. Don't be surprised to hear anything
from Spanish singing over a reggae groove (no, not reggaeton) to
edgy rock to ambient folk soundscapes.
Key Tracks:
Vinchuca
(
)
Been listening to this album a lot lately.
Hard to decide which one is my favourite song but this could be it.
No idea what she's singing about but I love the way she sings it."
[rec by jannehh]
Blue Mystery
(
)
Very nice song, sunny and strange at the
same time,I love it!" [rec by gof]
Smile
(
)
Funny song. I loved it from the instant I
heard it. "You left me smiling, and noone - crying"; well, this one
left me smiling :-) Nice guitar-licks. That goes for the whole
album really :-)" [rec by Velmont]
Posted in Uncategorized | by crazyeyes | 3 Comments »
Tagged as Reggae, Rock
July 27th, 2007
The
Sterns play pop rock with a punk attitude. But don't
think Blink 182, these guys are more like the Beatles meet The
Clash.
Here's an excerpt from a review of their album
from the Boston
Herald:
In the spirit of Barenaked Ladies,
listening to this 2-year-old pop quintet presents an emotionally
confusing experience. Say you're bopping along to the happy beat of
"For Your Photograph" off their debut album, "Say Goodbye to the
Camera." Then it dawns on you: This song is about extreme
loneliness and heartbreak. No more bopping. Most songs from this
album deal with relationships, but Stern predicts a shift with the
release of the tentatively titled , due out in early fall. "The subject
matter is less homogeneous," Stern said. "It's by no means
optimistic, but it's not as melancholy."
Look forward to social and political commentary set to sounds of
euphonious '60s rock embroidered with elements of '80s Brit pop. In
other words, here come the keyboards. And here come the Sterns,
looking to make their mark. 'We're at an age where we have to make
something of ourselves pretty quickly," Stern said. "The next step
is to play as many shows as possible."
The sound: Each song contains a series of tiny musical
explosions - like Pop Rocks for your ears."
Check out this video for
Buffer Zone
(
).
Posted in Uncategorized | by staff | No Comments »
Tagged as Alternative, Pop
July 27th, 2007
Keeley
Valentino grew up performing for her five younger
siblings in their living room. It wasn't until she took a
songwriting class at Vanderbuilt University that she met
collaborator Stan Sonu. The two have been making sweet
country-tinged folk ever since.
Key Tracks:
Keep
(
)
Bright Bright Girl
(
)
Anna
(
)
Won't Wait Around
(
)
Posted in Uncategorized | by crazyeyes | No Comments »
Tagged as Folk, Pop
July 27th, 2007
Amie Street is bringing you Tokyo Rose's brand
new album
before it hits stores! This
New Jersey based trio is bringing their unique brand of emo
dance-punk to the Vans Warped Tour this August. They've only been
on Amie Street for a short time, but everyone's already raving
about them:
We Can Be Best Friends Tonight, But Tomorrow I'll
(
)
If you enjoy Panic At The Disco, you're
likely to enjoy this song (or complain it's way too similar but
still secretly like it). The style of singing is *very* close, just
slower. Still, I like." [rec by parasight]
The Promise in Compromise
(
)
So good. I can't explain it. Its just
_that_ good." [rec by heygabe]
Less Than Four
(
)
If you like Fallout Boy, you will like
Tokyo Rose even more. You can actually understand the lyrics
clearly.." [rec by Heeetherette]
Swimming With the Sharks
(
)
Cool wandering harmonic guitar intro,
slowish musical verses, catchy chorus, makes ya feel good :-)" [rec
by Macca]
Posted in Uncategorized | by staff | No Comments »
Tagged as Alternative, Emo, Punk, Rock
July 26th, 2007
Check out this video for
GROWN MAN
(
) by
B. Rich. He's been
asking us to put it up all week- but it's so hot that we would've
done it anyway. Thanks for the heads up B!
Posted in Uncategorized | by staff | No Comments »
Tagged as Hip Hop, Pop, Rap
July 26th, 2007
Dee is
a multi-instrumentalist/DJ from Montreal. His music is super
danceable electro-pop that has been featured in a Ford commercial,
Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order, and Punk'd.
Check out this video for
lonelygirl (bonus track)
(
). If you haven't guessed by the song
title, the tune is about
LonelyGirl15.
Key Tracks:
Filter Factory
(
)
Yaaa Yaaa! Do not hesitate, click the
button and buy this song. A seriously rocking electroPop number
that made it impossible for me to stay in the chair. I had to
boogie around the desk, then sat down and wrote this rec..." [rec
by roguepuppet]
Real (Summertime)
(
)
Dee is one of my favorite new groups to
Amie. I really like the song Real (Summertime). Their whole album
is really good!" [rec by jasontl]
Miles and Miles
(
)
Great song! You might recognize it from
the Ford Edge commercial: 'I like to live on the edge...'" [rec by
jandsroberts]
This Sucks
(
)
When DEE puts aside the electronica and
rocks out, he's knows all the right buttons to push." [rec by
CraigH]
Posted in Uncategorized | by crazyeyes | No Comments »
Tagged as Electronic, Pop
