Mae- (m)orning

Mae is a band burnt out. Now, when I say “burnt out”, I don’t mean their music is suffering from lack of ideas and music ability. I mean they are burnt out on the way the music business is run. After having been through the major label ringer with their last “flop” of an album, Singularity, Mae decided that they needed to make music for something more than just themselves. So, without the backing of a label, they decided to team up with Habitat for Humanity to raise money to build a house, through their music. They did this by recording and releasing songs each month (1 song per month) online for digital download. The only thing the consumer had to do was pay a dollar that would go to Habitat for Humanity and they would get the song.

The physical release of these songs is found on Mae’s new EP, (m)orning. This EP shows that pop music does not need to have walls. It can roam free on it’s own and stand its ground. Mae has made a collection of songs that I like to refer to as “progressive pop”. It never stays in one place, and like most pop music, when you think you can guess what will happen next, Mae throws you a curve ball (like the instrumental “Two Birds” or the Third Eye Blind-inspired riffing in “Boomerang”). Songs on this EP have this remarkable ability to stay catchy but still be 8 minutes long [see “The Fisherman Song (We All Need Love)”]. It seems a little bit ingenious for them to do something this ambitious. And to some it might not seem as ambitious, but if you look at the world of pop/rock music today, most bands are playing within the confines of a verse and a chorus. But Mae is using the music to tell stories and take pop music to a place it doesn’t normally go. Experimenting with time signatures and layers upon layers of different instruments (see “A Melody, A Memory”), this EP is one of the most zealous pop records you will ever hear.

Mae have never really been one for convention, but it helps that their unconventional nature is not only taking them to new heights musically but it is taking to places they would have never thought possible with the partnership of Habitat for Humanity. Not only are they helping the stale scene of pop music of today but they are using is for a great purpose, to change people’s lives. The combination of the two turned out one of my favorite records of the year and one that will change your thinking on pop music.

Energy - Invasions Of The Mind

If you would have told me that in 2008, I of all people would have a bridge nine records release in even my honorable mentions of that year, I would have straight up laughed at you. I am not trying to say that I don’t enjoy a good breakdown or 2 every now and again or tough dudes playing tough music, but though I am from Boston, I’m not that tough. I wear skinny jeans and frequent places like urban outfitters and H&M and my favorite band is Copeland. So needless to say, bridge nine records doesn’t have a lot of stock in my record collection. But oddly enough, I was struck by something from that label, struck enough to actually get an album and listen to it and actually enjoy it. Even more odd was the fact that this record came from bridge nine and it wasn’t the heaviest thing on the earth. If anything, for its genre, it was pretty melodic. Clean singing?! WHAT?! This is not the bridge nine I knew about. But it was Energy; it was their latest release Invasions of the Mind. And after a few spins of that cd, that is exactly what is was doing.

The intro to the album brought what I expect to hear from bridge nine records. Opening with feedback that crawls into an intro breakdown. But after that, the music just starts to gallop out of a gates and opens up into energy’s brand of melodic punk that I had never really heard done as well as they do it. It combines the catchy-ness of a four years strong without the gimmick (“Hunter Red”, “Hail The Size Of Grapes”) and the intensity of a bane or comeback kid without being overtly in your face (“The Silence”). But the place where they really shine is when they let the intensity come out because the melodic tag might give the impression that they are the wusses of the genre, which I can assure you that this is not the case. Songs like “Heaven” or “The Silence” can show you that energy is ready for action. But at the same time can pump out some of the catchiest choruses that you’ll hear (“Hail To The Size Of Grapes”, “400”).

There is a point in the album that they show you that they are willing to explore songwriting-wise. Near the middle you hit a song called “The Satellite And The Hit”. This song starts out like most songs on an album but then a groovy bass line takes over the verses and a desperate plea of “Will you save me when they come for me?” comes from the chorus and the whole song is slower and more impactful and emotional than any other song on the rest of the album.

This album came out of left field, at least for me, and hit me over the head. It was by far one of the catchier albums of 2008. And this is coming from some one you will not find at a Have Heart show anytime soon. But if you are looking for something that you can take seriously that is equal part catchy and fast and upbeat and you don’t want to go for the gimmicks, then just let Energy invade your mind (I know…I know, it’s corny but come on, that title was asking for it…)

Anberlin - New Surrender

I am hear to speak for everyone who loved Cities. The album, I believe, that Anberlin found their sound. The driving arena-emo that had choruses that touched the clouds and guitars that felt like they were breaking down brick walls. The first two Anberlin albums (Blueprints for the Black Market and Never Take Friendship Personal, respectively), were back and forth musical battles between pop/punk hits, like "A Day Late" that sounded like they belong on top 40 radio, and driving, passionate guitar rock that ultimately became their signiature sound. But with Cities, finally the dust settled and what came was one of my favorite albums of the genre. Then I found out that shortly after the release of that album, Anberlin had taken the step from indie powerhouse, Tooth and Nail, to the big leagues of Universal Republic. This, in my opinion, played a significant role in the making of their new album, New Surrender, the album that is the most ambigious effort to date.

The album (almost) begins right where it left off on Cities with "The Resistance". The gang vocals in the chorus allow it to reach about as far as Never Take Friendship Personal. The album continues on with a couple of mediocre Anberlin tracks that would easily find a place on that same record.

The album then takes a turn for the worse with "Retrace". This song easily sounds like it could be on a soft rock/adult contemporary radio station in 10 years. One of the softest, most radio-friendly tracks Anberlin has ever done. The bridge almost brings it back to normal Anberlin status but this seems like a battle the major label won. After comes the first single (and re-recorded version of) "Feel Good Drag". The biggest difference between this and the original is the production. The guitars take over this take to make it sound larger than life, but it does not over-shadow what follows with "Disappear". This song sounds like you just got in a time machine and to took you back to Cities, and as a result is my favorite song on the record. But once you have come back to reality, you realize why you are in love with the past.

The second half of the record starts out solid. The song "Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)"is a good old fashioned Anberlin pop song. On this record, 'Anberlin pop' can be hit or miss. This, though, is a bull's eye. But after that track the album lacks what we all love from Anberlin, driving, alternative rock. Instead it is replaced by feel good, top 40 pop/rock ("Younglife", "Haight Street") or sluggish, boring anthems ("Soft Skeletons"). The last song, "Miserabile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum), tries to be an epic closer, but like most of New Surrender, it falls flat on its face.

I was expecting so much more out of this record. I am not going to call Anberlin "sellouts", because I feel like they still know and can write incredible songs ("The Resistance", "Disappear"). Unfortunately, despite 'The Resistance' Anberlin might have put up, it seems like the Universal-Republic won this war.

Don The Reader- Humanesque

Nowadays, there are so many genre's to describe heavy music (metalcore, grindcore, hardcore, screamo, etc), These genres obviously have become over saturated and over used to the point of annoyance and frustration. The hardcore/metalcore/screamo scene that is currently upon us is one that seems prime for collapsing in on itself at any moment under the weight of its indistinguishable breakdowns and American Apparel hoodies. But amidst all of the downtrodden and pessimistic feelings one could have over this matter, there seems to be a few rays of light, one of them being Don the Reader and their debut record, Humanesque.

Hailing from California, Don the reader does not waste anytime getting you ready to move. Their pulsing intro of "328" grabs you and throws you into the onslaught of their first two opening tracks without warning ("Malfunction", "Teethgrinder"). They use coalesce-inspired riffage with breakdowns reminiscent of Every Time I Die's "Hot Damn!" to show you that they mean business up front, but a little party in the back (even being able to fit in time for some tambourine shakes on "Teethgrinder"). Though it is hard to tell where the first songs ends and second begins, it doesn't seem like it really matters in the context of the technical attack that Don the Reader is forming.

The title track starts off no different from the first two songs on the record. The first three and a half minutes are full of the technical riffing you've come to expect from this album. But half way through the six minutes long track, this curious melodic, explosions in the sky-esque score comes into play for the rest of the track. This allows the listener to take a break and recover what was and is to come. But as soon as the reprieve has ended, Don throws you back into the fire-y furnace of panic chords and Botch riffs with "Con- Scientist".

"Hotwar" is a back and forth battle between Botch and Deftones, musically. They do not have certain parts of the song where they are heavy and then another were they are melodic, they, instead, just toss it into the one of the best songs on the record. The next track, "Pre-self Deficiency" includes one of the best breakdowns of the whole record. After that, Don rehashes "Reader", a tune from their debut E.P. This track is one of the more typical of the bunch but punishing nonetheless. "Designer Flesh" is another songs in which they use the "heavy for half, melodic for half" formula, expect they end the song by telling us to "broadcast the fucking fantasy" in one of the most crippling breakdowns of the album.

The album ends on a high note with "I Swallowed New Orleans" where according to Don the Reader, they did in fact swallow New Orleans, and the grand closer "Guillotension". This song includes the most clever build up's, with Don building up and then turning it into a atmospheric soundscape before breaking down.

Don the reader successfully put out a stellar debut with Humanesque. The only minor vice I found in the record was the length of the record (clocking in at just about an hour). But everything you would want from what some would call a "technical metalcore" band is there, along with many surprises along the way to keep things interesting.

Copeland- You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine/you make me happy when skies are gray. Theses are the words to the popular lullaby in which Copeland named their 4th musical endeavor. The title seems very appropriate considering that they had seem some gray skies in the process of actually making and releasing this record. After having being sent through the major label ringer and being spit back out without even releasing any music for that label, they were finally able to find a home for their next work in indie powerhouse Tooth and Nail records. This gave them complete creative control and they certainly used it. The byproduct being their 4th full-length record, You Are My Sunshine.

From the moment the album begins, you already know you are listening to a Copeland record. It starts out with nothing but beautiful layered harmonies of front man, Aaron Marsh, taking you into the musical stratosphere with his voice. The slightly jazzy number, “Should You Return”, makes for a gorgeous opener and arguably one of the best songs Marsh has ever composed. The piano driven single, “The Grey Man”, follows and is certainly appropriate as a single combining all that people have come to love about Copeland with it’s moving bass line and light piano combined with Aaron’s layered vocals. This album moves on with one of the softest numbers on the record with “Chin Up”. The song was redone from the acoustic version found on their b-sides record, Dressed Up and In Line. The song’s most poignant aspect is not only the soft piano rock you’ve come to expect but the lyrics to the chorus hit home saying that “you would break your neck, just to keep your chin up”.

The album moves seamlessly with some of the best material Copeland has to offer. “Good Morning, Fire Eater” feels like it belongs as a b-side to their last record, Eat, Sleep, Repeat, using programmed drums and atmospheric guitars tones to take over the track. The catchiest track on the record comes up next with the more driving “To Be Happy Now”. It moves just like something off of their sophomore record, In Motion, with its energetic nature.

The second half of the record is kicked off with very simple song, “The Day I Lose My Voice (The Suitcase Song0” where Aaron tells us that he has got his “Life in a suitcase” and he is “ready to run, run, run away”. This songs standout point is the guest vocals from folk singer Rae Cassidy. She lets her jazz-influenced voice take over the track while an assembly of horns in the background accompanies her. This makes for one of the most intriguing songs on the record because of how different it is for Copeland, but it is nonetheless beautiful.

The rest of the second half seems to flow together in a medley of songs that have become what you have come to expect. All combining luscious soundscapes in the chorus like in “On The Safest Ledge” or “What Do I know?” The other direction they take the album is there are two songs that seems to be Aaron Marsh solo songs. The first being the dreary “Strange and Unprepared”, which is just Aaron and his piano telling you how “you never feel good or bad, just strange and unprepared, and now we will always never know”. This loss seems to also hold over into the closer “Not So Tough Found Out”. This was a poem that Aaron decided to turn into a song, which you can tell that easily by looking at the structure of the lyrics. This 10-minute closer is the only vice I found with the record. The song climaxes but the seems to carry on with the opening piano riff for another 3 minutes afterward.

You Are My Sunshine is nothing but gorgeous. The layered vocals of Aaron Marsh combined with stunning piano and atmospheric guitar work all moving seamlessly through a sonic soundscape that only Copeland could create make this record Copeland’s best since their critically-acclaimed debut, Beneath Medicine Tree. With only minor vices coming at the end of the record, it was certainly worth the wait and the pain that they must have gone through trying to get this record out, because they found a home. Just like this record should find a home in your Itunes.

Manchester Orchestra- Mean Everything To Nothing

I had heard a lot about this band Manchester Orchestra from the websites and magazines (absolutepunk.net, alternative press magazine, etc.), and how they were hyping up their sophmore record, Mean Everything To Nothing. They, apprently, talked about it like it was a God send for rock ‘n roll music. Andy Hall, the lead singer, had created this master piece of fear, doubt, and cycnism with music that ranged anywhere from rock legends Nirvana to their off-shoot The Foo Fighters, or even the stripped down rock of Weezer. I was very skeptical at first, as I am when I hear of a band making a landmark record. And it doesnt’t help that my roommate has played this album in our room constantly. But as he played it, I realized that Andy Hall and the rest of Manchester Orchestra actually did suceed in making a solid record. The straight forward rock sound mixed with the emotive lyrics and voice of Andy Hall mesh perfectly to create what some call this year’s landmark rock record.

The album opens with the overly honest lyrics “I am the only one who thinks I’m going crazy and I don’t know what to do”. This and others like it immidately show you that Andy Hall is not going to mess around with metaphor. According to the song also, he was a son of a pastor and this really shows where the doubt and cycnism comes from. This brings a completely deeper level of openness and honesty to the album that did not really hit me until a few listens in. Musically, the southern-tinged rock sound is broken up in the chorus with some Beach Boys-influenced background harmonies, which is something that I never would have expected to hear on the “rock album of the year”.

The album moves on with the very, very urgent sounding “Shake It Out” (not to be confused with the popular Metro Station song “Shake It”). On this song, the vocal delivery and music’s pressing nature really seem to make this one of the stand out tracks on the record. In the middle there is a reprise which then just opens up into one of the most epic scores found in a song you will hear in 2009. The first single, “I’ve Got Friends” can be found on your local rock station. It seems to channel the likes of Weezer’s “Pinkerton” musically with just a tad bit of Nirvana, while Andy Hall tells us that he has “friends in all the right places”.

Next is a one of the slow movers of the record with “Pride”. This song sounds like a combination of Brand New’s “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me” meets southern sludge. The word “sludge” may seem a little awkward to use but really the main riff of this song is nothing but dirty. So regardless of maybe the song being a little bit too long for one’s attention span, once it is over, you will feel nothing but the dirt from the riff and the grit of Hall’s voice. Which, in most cases doesn’t sound pleasant, but in Manchester Orchestra’s case, sounds amazing.

The middle of the record moves on with a Foo Fighter-esque “In My Teeth” and the very short “100 Dollars”, which all you really get out of that song is the fact that Hall is “fine”, but he needs 100 dollars. The next classic of the record comes at the expense of “I Can Feel A Hot One”. This is a slow mover but has a deary way about it that makes you want to keep listening where Hall will take this personal story.

The last half of the record is consumed with nothing but epic build ups and Hall taking the music to a level no really thought was possible, after making such a soft freshman effort. “My Friend Marcus” moves like the new indie sensation Delta Spirt with a bit more a southern rock-tinge while Hall tells us in the chorus that “You mean everything to nothing”. While the verse/chorus/verse poppy-version of Nirvana tune, “Tony The Tiger” seems to be one of the skippable tracks on the record.

The final two songs are unlike anything thus far. Manchester Orchestra is a firm believer in saving the best for last. They while these build ups that in “Everything To Nothing” make you think “how can they out do themselves on the final track?”. But then “The River” comes on and you are left not knowing what to think about anything. They leave the highest point for the place it should go, the end, and they certainly go out with style

So the question needs to be asked, do they live up to the hype that they have been getting? The answer is a resounding, “for the most part”. The album is not perfect by any means, but it certainly catches your attention and only lets go of it for a short time near the end, but then ends on such a strong note that you are awestruck with what you have just heard. It will be certainly be a record to look out for in 2009.

mewithoutYou- it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright

rior to the actual release of mewithoutYou’s fourth musical endeavor, it’s all crazy! It’s all false! It’s all a dream! It’s alright!, I was at a loss as to what to make of the hype that I had heard buzzing around the internet about the change of their sound. The first thing I had heard was the fact that they wrote the entire record with acoustic guitars. This obviously brings a completely different dynamic to the songwriting and is blatantly obviously on the new record. Everything is softer and mellower than anything they had done before. One could argue that is was a large jump from their previous records but at the same time if you really look at their body of work, they have gotten softer progressively coming from the post-punk of A→B [Life] to the moody, albeit catchy Brother, Sister. But out of all the things I had heard coming into this record, I found out that they would be singing throughout the entirety of the record. Which for mewithoutYou, and maybe only mewithoutYou, that seemed like a strange idea. In case you haven’t heard of or know about mewithoutYou’s sound before, the one thing that holds them above most acts in their genre is really the vocal delivery. The poetry of Aaron Weiss is one that is arguably unmatched in the scene today, but not only that, his unique vocal delivery (instead of singing, he mostly hollers or does spoken word) is what makes mewithoutYou one of the most fresh and distinctive bands of their genre. The music isn’t half bad either; combining ambient guitar work, drumming that is unique unto itself, and some bass lines that are smoother than marble. All of this though, was about to change on May 19th.

The first thing that struck me about the record at first was the artwork. I myself am a vinyl collector and I’d say half the reason I do so is because I love the artwork. I think an albums artwork can express a different side of the record by making it more cohesive. And as I gazed at the brown piece of abstract art that is the cover I was struck by how well it fits the mood of the album. I think this is something mewithoutYou has always done well with their artwork. But as I looked inside and read the lyrics of this record (which with mwY is always something that is a journey unto itself), I was a little confused by what I saw. This time instead of finding the cries of a man drowning in self-doubt (Catch For Us The Foxes) or one that is expressive of an existential side of Christianity (Brother, Sister), but yet I found stories. This was certainly different than what I was expecting. I was expecting something that I could find that I would connect with on a deeper level and all I got was some crazy tale about a crow, a fox, and a cookie. As I listened more, all I seemed to hear was absurd parables that for some reason featured every piece of fruit, food, and animal imaginable (see “the Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie” and “goodbye I!”). I really was at a loss as to what to think upon first listening.

Musically, their was a lot of acoustic guitar, like I had heard about before, but also their was a ton of horns and other various brass instruments and shakers and such, that as a die-hard mewithoutYou fan, I didn’t know if this is really want I wanted from this record. Everything seemed so different. Not to mention the fact that Weiss traded in his hollering for singing, which he can sing but it was certainly a peculiar voice (see “Every Though a Though of You” and “Allah, Allah, Allah”).

So what was I to do? When sitting down to actually write this review, I was having a constant struggle as to whether to approach this from the bitter old fan who was going to play the “THEIR OLD STUFF WAS BETTER!” card or the fan who thinks that you can’t compare is to the old stuff and appreciate it for what it is. That dilemma is what plagues the fans of any band that changes their sound even in the slightest. And honestly, I hate both of those approaches. The “old school” fan is annoying because he can’t move forward, getting bitter over any amount of success and claiming that the stuff they loved in high school is the only good stuff (which with certain bands, I am 100% guilty of that). But the other people annoy me as well. They embrace the new stuff by forgetting was came before it. So with this record I did some research and realized that the changes that they made, extreme, as they may seem, aren’t as extreme as I first perceived.

MewithoutYou’s acoustic guitar influence was ever present on Brother, Sister. If you look at a song like “In A Sweater Poorly Knit”, you could tell where they were going with this next record. Also, the singing aspect has been in mewithoutYou since the start, even if it was small (see “The Ghost” from A→B [Life]. The story telling was also there on Brother, Sister in songs like the one I already mentioned and “Messes of Men”. And lastly, their mellower vibe that you find on it’s all crazy! can be found no further than the spider trilogy that they did on Brother, Sister.

So after looking into mewithoutYou’s past and realizing that though this album actually really isn’t much of a stretch, it was able to grow on me. And as I listened, I found the great one-liners and meaning within those parables (the most enjoyable I feel being “The Fox, The Crow, And The Cookie”). The music itself did take a little bit getting used to, and I found it slightly ironic that the album that mewithoutYou starts singing in is probably their least accessible.

It is hard to swallow this record upon the first few listens. Especially if you are as big of a fan of mewithoutYou as I am. And I feel like four albums in, you aren’t really making records to win over new fans or to impress anyone. You are strictly doing it for the love of music and self-expression. That seems to be mood on this record. MewithoutYou has always been unique and different from anything else, and with this record take it to another level. So really the only way I can think to describe this cd and accurately say how I feel about it, is just to say it’s all crazy! and it’s alright!