Jimmy Eat World – Invented Review

Predictable. When seeing a Michael Bay movie you know that:

a)Shit is going to blow up
b)There is going to be more CGI than regular actors
c)It’s going to suck

The same goes for a Jimmy Eat World record. You are going to find ten or so tracks that blend melodies and emotion into either a rocking track or a pop sensation. This has been the basic formula since their “Bleed American” album that truly put them in the international spotlight. Their latest album doesn’t break the mould, still providing layered rock anthems and emotionally charged songs to the masses. Interestingly enough the songs that try to capture the “old” rock sound of the band, the “Salt Sweats” or the “Futures” of the album are the ones that fail to propel Invented to full potential.

Leading single “My Best Theory” sound great on its own, but when listening to the album in its entirety it fails to pack the same punch. The same stands for “Higher Devotion” that tries to lure you into a hook here and there but fails to capture attention. Then the album takes a turn with track 5 “Movielike”, a point of the album where everything just works. The driving beat of “Coffee and Cigarettes”, the layered guitars in “Littlething” the minimalistic “Cut” and the full rocking “Action Needs an Audience” gel together so well that you forget about those first 4 tracks that kicked things off.

Jimmy Eat World always end their albums with a strong finish and “Mixtape” is no exception to this long standing tradition. A fitting end to an album that could have been great, but the first four tracks just really let it down. Unlike other Jimmy Eat World albums listeners won’t get instant satisfaction on a single listen; repeat listens on the other hand allow this album to grow and flourish.

Predictable. That word sums up the delivery and execution of Invented. Yet it is still a testament to the song writing and lyrical abilities of Jimmy Eat World that even though they are predictable, they can still release a compelling record.

2.5/5

Anberlin – Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place Review

Anberlin have always been one of those bands who were on the verge of breaking out. Their brand of “Christian” alternative rock that was formed off the back of punk sentiments stands leagues ahead of other successful bands such as Taking Back Sunday or My Chemical Romance, yet they never broke through the barriers to mainstream success. Their ability to mature and progress their sound on every release since their breakthrough album “Never Take Friendship Personal” has garnered them a strong following, and the trend hasn’t been broken on their most recent release “Dark is the Way, Light is a Place”. Replacing the standard pop tones with something darker and more personal, Anberlin have delivered their most interesting album to date, yet that doesn’t mean it is their best.

Opening track “We Did This To Ourselves” comes out swinging with a gut wrenching lead riff that sounds like it belongs on a Story Of The Year record rather than Anberlin, keeping the tradition of starting their albums with a bang. Stephen Christian’s vocals soar during the chorus and bridge and leave you wanting more. Thankfully the album isn’t short of the rock numbers; “To The Wolves” and “Closer” all have that sing along quality that pulls amazing responses at live shows. The layered guitars during the verses of Closer are so slick before leading into a bellowing chorus that is classic Anberlin.

The rest of the album on the other hand is relatively uncharted territory for the band. While they have experimented and proven their worth on slower tracks on previous albums, this time around the band have really pushed their limits in what they are capable of. “You Belong Here” really shows off the wide range of Stephen’s voice. “Take Me As You Found Me” shows the intricacies between guitars that are often overlooked in the harder numbers, and stand out song “Down” is a slow building, multi-layered track that features violin, piano and shakers.

It’s always nice to see a band try something new rather then releasing the same album time and time again. Anberlin have really stepped out of their shells and have released a darker, edgier record that somehow manages to be uplifting as it discusses the journey of life and death. While I applaud them for trying, and succeeding at creating a number of fantastic soft songs, they tend to leave the album feeling a little bare. When you open up with a rocking track like “We Did This To Ourselves” you are amped and ready to go, yet the album offers little in the way to keep that energy rising. A great album that once again puts Anberlin light years in front of their peers, but just needed a little extra oomph to keep it going.

3.5/5

http://www.youtube.com/v/_HAdXUcAA14?fs=1&hl=en_US

Final Soundwave 2011 Additions

Soundwave 2011 was already big, but recent addition of One Day As A Lion has certainly made it even bigger. A new collaboration between Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against The Machine) and Jon Theodore (The Mars Volta) will be heading to Australia for the very first time to dazzle audiences with their amazing live show.

Add this to recent news of Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon, The Murderdolls, Millencolin, Coheed & Cambria and local heroes The Amity Affliction and we have a very solid Soundwave Lineup for 2011.

Who are you excited to see?

Jimmy Eat World Preview New Album

Veterans Jimmy Eat World are currently streaming 60 second clips of each track that is appearing on their highly anticipated album Invented. Simply go to JimmyEatWorld.com to have a listen.

The band has also revealed all the artwork for the release on their Facebook Page. Head over there to become a fan and gain access to the pics.

Invented is due out September 28.

Kurt Travis Talks About His Departure

While fans of Dance Gavin Dance are jumping for joy at the fact that Jonny Craig is back in the line up Kurt Travis has discussed his departure from the band in a recent interview.

He has denied rumours that he quit the band, coming out and saying he was kicked out so Jonny could rejoin the band.

“I definitely was never going to quit, I got kicked out. The band told me that they were going to break up because they weren’t happy with it, but before they did they were going do a tour with Jonny and just do Downtown Battle Mountain songs. Things didn’t really happen the way they told me it seems. I was just trying to stay in DGD as long as I could, knowing one day it would come to an end.”

You can read the full interview over at DeadPress here.

The xx Take Out The Mercury Prize

British band The xx have taken out the 2010 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for their self-titled debut album. The highly prestigeous aware also comes with £20,000 ($35000 AUD) of prize money along with bragging rights of being honored with some of England‘s biggest and brightest musicians.

The xx won the prize over eleven other acts including Wild Beasts, Paul Weller and Dizzee Rascal. Front man Oliver Sim said “I don’t know what we were expecting but we weren’t expecting this.”

Related Articles

• The xx Win The Mercury Prize 2010 (stereogum.com)

Tom Delonge Talks New Blink-182

Blink-182 announced their return in 2009 at the 51st Grammy Awards. They said they were in the studio recording new material and that a new album was on the way. Since then however, details have been rather scarce. Recently Tom Delonge divulged a little information in what we could expect from their comeback album after the worldwide success of their Self Titled album in 2003.

“I feel like a little kid full of wonder. I can’t comprehend the size of these shows. We’re getting on better than we ever have, and there’s a confidence there now. We love what we do and we know we do it pretty well. The record will be very modern, relevant, fast and fun. It’ll be a mixture of drum’n’bass, indie rock and stadium rock. I can’t say we’ve done that before, but you can see the tip of the iceberg on the last record. Anyone who listens to my band Angels and Airwaves will know where I sit musically. If you imagine that, mixed in with what the other guys do in their spare time, you get it. It’s going to be a really great collaboration of the best of three different genres of music.”

Indie? Drum’n’bass? Stadium rock? We could be in for a very different Blink-182 when they release a new album. Fingers crossed it’s more in the vein of +44 than Angels and Airwaves.

Related Articles

• Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus Talks New Album, Reading and Leeds Festivals (spinner.com)

Murderdolls – Women and Children Last Review

Shock rockers Murderdolls have been missing in action for a while. Their debut album Beyond The Valley of The Murderdolls was creepy, hilarious and poked a lot of fun at the state of the music industry at the time. Six years after their last tour Murderdolls hit back with a new album “Women and Children Last” but do they still have relevance in todays music climate?

Murderdolls have delivered fourteen new tracks filled with morbid themes, sex, drugs and rock & roll for your listening pleasure. The album opens up with the dark and sinister “The World According To Revenge” which is filled with manic laughter and a dark and deep bass line backed up by chunky guitars which sets the mood for a good album.

I can’t decide if it’s just bad, or it’s the fact I’m not sixteen anymore but by the time I hit track three I was bored with the lyrical content on the album. The constant “Fuck everyone and fuck you” attitude wears pretty thin which is a damn shame because the riffs are as catchy as ever.

The highlight of the album is easily “Nowhere” which is full of catchy hooks and laced with classic 80’s solos to cement it as one of Murderdolls finest examples of what they can do. The track is then immediately followed up with one of the worst songs on the album “Summertime Suicide” which honestly sounds like some shit Guns & Roses would put on a new album. It seems to last an eternity and it gets to a point where you just want to destroy your media player of choice just so you don’t have to listen to it any longer. It’s boring, it’s uninspiring, and it is completely frustrating considering the track before is so damn good.

That is how the whole album pans out, a solid song backed up by two or three sub-par pieces of shit. Tracks like “Bored ’Til Death”, Drug Me Baby and Death Valley Superstars” which feature slick guitar work, catchy choruses and danceable properties are let down by the shit stains on the album such as “Summertime Suicide, Chapel of Blood or Blood Stained Valentine”.

Women and Children Last shows that Murderdolls still have some of the qualities that made them such a great band all those years ago, yet more thought needed to go into the tracks that were placed on the album. While the band didn’t re-invent the wheel when it comes to their song writing they certainly need to take a hard look at what works and what doesn’t because far too many filler songs have seemed to slip through the cracks. At the end of the day it does feature some good tacks that will appease fans, but the album fails to reach its full potential.

2.5/5

Related Articles

• Murderdolls: ‘Women and Children Last’ Streaming Now! (hardrockhideout.com)
• JOEY JORDISON: ‘Women And Children Last’ Is Really The First MURDERDOLLS Record (roadrunnerrecords.com)

Green Day Announce Live Album

Those punk superstars Green Day are at it again, this time announcing they are releasing a brand new live CD. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong recently told a crowd in Colorado “Hey, I just want to tell you something right now. We are recording a live fucking album right now”.

The live album will be comprised of performances from their extensive tour in support of their latest release “21st Century Breakdown” which received critical acclaim garnering Rolling Stone‘s fifth best album of 2009.

There is no official release date as yet, but it is coming.

Related Articles

• Green Day Plan Live Album And Play Unheard Song (undercover.com.au)
• WATCH: Green Day Debut New Song Live! (spin.com)

New Alexisonfire Digital Album

Canadian post-hardcore giants Alexisonfire have some new material on the way, yet it will only be available as a digital download from iTunes.

The creatively titled “iTunes Originals” is due for release on September 28th. The interesting thing for fans is that the album comprises of medley of content; you will be treated to interview clips, album tracks and some new live versions of some of the bands signature material.

The album was wrapped up in April this year with the band recording six tracks live in the studio for the release. The track list is below.

1. ‘The Northern’
2. ‘You Burn First’ (iTunes Original version)
3. ‘Heading For The Sun’
4. ‘Boiled Frogs’ (iTunes Original version)
5. ‘Midnight Regulations’
6. ‘Waterwings’ (iTunes Original version)
7. ‘Young Cardinals’
8. ‘This Could Be Anywhere in the World’ (iTunes Original version)
9. ‘Accept Crime’
10. ‘Born and Raised’
11. ‘No Transitory’ (iTunes Original version)
12. ‘Happiness By The Kilowatt’ (iTunes Original version)