interpol + foals @ the midland
On Thursday, May 2nd, Interpol and FOALS lit up the stage at Arvest Bank Theater at The Midland. Photographer Ashleigh Lee captured some highlights for us.
Keep up with Interpol here.
dead girls corp., bloody noses and hand grenades
Dead Girls Corp. recently released an album. So what’s it like? Read on and you shall discover.
The album starts with Dead Girl, the feel of the track is very much 90s metal. It has nice droning chugging guitars and potent vocals. I also like the industrial feeling you get on this one.
From The Bottom is next, this has a gorgeous old school industrial start and feel, I must admit the feel of the music is nothing new but it’s amazing just by being what it is. This track has a lot of power behind it both vocally and musically, some very nice potent and energetic drumming here.
X’s No O’s again has that classic industrial start, the music is very packed full of sound which can sometimes detract from each angle of the music but this is not a bad thing. Again this track is nothing different from the previous two tracks in any way, but the music is one you find yourself moving to.
Alleys Of Death is by far the most melodic of all the tracks so far with great placement of each part of the music, it doesn’t feel as slightly too full as the previous three tracks do. This has a cock rock feeling to the track vocally and also the way that the guitars screech.
Ask For It is really a track that has very prominent vocals and guitars, they just seem to dual with each other yet compliment each other at the time. Though at points when both are full on they tend to drown each other out somewhat which is a shame as it detracts from the feel of the song.
Flesh For Fantasy again has a cock rock feel but this time it’s melodic and very sexy, almost orgasmic industrial metal. On this track the vocals sound like a sensual but aggressive David Coverdale. I like the music on this one, the backbeat is good but the guitars seem to tell part of the story which is quite clever.
Can’t Change does what some of the other tracks on this album don’t, it harmonizes the clutter of the music. It’s full on sound but with etiquette and emotion, I do love the slight echo on the vocals here as it adds a slight excitability to the feel of the music.
Promise Me is a track that is something different to other tracks on this album, this has more a late 90’s nu metal feel yet with a more slightly classic guitar sound. It’s almost a homage to the greats of that era like Stabbing Westward as it has that slight feel to it.
VDay comes next and to me as the album is winding down then so is the music, VDay is a lot more mellow than the other tracks but yet it does slightly peak at points. It has them chugging guitars again but yet there is something about this track, so far from what I have heard VDay is my favourite so far. It’s heavy, melodic, light and a true belter of a track.
Just The Same does similar to VDay, it winds down from the other tracks. Again this track is lighter, it’s less cluttered than some of the other tracks and I must admit this one is very harmonic. It just seems to fit well together, for the first time here you can hear the bass perfectly. Liking this track a lot.
Dynamite is again quite light compared to the beginning tracks, David Coverdale esq vocals make a return here. The music ebbs and gets a bit more heavier than VDay and Just The Same but then it calms down again, I think it’s perfect for the setting lyrically here.
And last but not least we have Worth, oh the bass here is very sexy. Only issue here is at points the music becomes cluttered again which kind of spoils what is a very catchy track, it’s just a little bit too much I feel.
Overall I feel this is not a bad album but there are quite a few tracks where the music is just too full and it becomes very cluttered which detracts from the actual talent of Dead Girls Corp. As the album comes to a close the music mellows and shows the true expertise of each of the musicians, vocals are amazing but they do get overpowered by the music sometimes.
If you like decent industrial then this album is for you, it’s nothing new but it does keep alive a genre that we don’t tend to see much of these days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqnfz5NzvOw
https://www.facebook.com/deadgirlscorp/
rising appalachia, leylines
Atlanta-based foul/soul collective Rising Appalachians – comprised of Leah Song, Chloe Smith, Biko Casini, and David Brown – releases their new twelve track album Leylines today, and we’re overjoyed with the sonic adventure it leads its listeners on. From the first, caressing lines of “I Believe in Being Ready”, the album feels alive. The vocal layers are absolutely exquisite, and we’re blown away to see the ferocity with which said vocals lead the album as a whole. Working with talents such as Ani Difranco (“Speak Out”), Trevor Hall (“Shed Your Grace”), and Maurice Turner (“Indigo Dance”), Rising Appalachians has found a way to bring in distinctive traits from each act and meld it into a sound all its own.
“Make Magic” and “Sassafras” are two of our personal favorites on the release, and their contrasting sounds are the perfect display of how robust the talent found in this four piece truly is. Take the album for a spin below, and let us know what tickles your fancy!
Keep up with Rising Appalachia here.
cayucas @ recordbar
On Monday, April 29th – just days after the release of their new album Real Life – brother duo Cayucas made a phenomenal appearance at recordBar in Kansas City, MO. They were joined by Cape Francis, which was also an incredible delight. In all sincerity, it’s a little more difficult to get a midwestern out of the house on a Monday night. Especially when the weather has been gloomy. But Cayucas is the band you show up for, as you’ll never quite understand how impressive they are without witnessing them live.
Keep up with Cayucas here.
the brookses, lucky charm
From the very first slow chords of “Little Miss Raincloud”, you can tell that The Brookses have concocted something undeniably alluring with their debut EP Lucky Charm. An Atlanta-based father/daughter country/Americana duo, there is a certain magnetism about them that you can find in each of the twelve tracks on their new release. While songs like “Over Again”, “Evening Star”, and “Victrola” have some pep to their step, there is an overarching feeling of melancholy that encases the entire album.
But that’s the true beauty of it all. Meg and James Brooks have found a way to weave heavy lyrics into gorgeous backdrops, electrifying the project with instrumental layers and a feeling of coming home. It’s almost as though this album could only have been made in this serene and balanced way by a family band, and we’re thrilled to hear the release in its entirety as it was meant to be experienced.
Tracked live in one room at Standard Electric Recording Company with producer Damon Moon (Blair Crimmins, Big Brutus, Sydney Eloise & the Palms), Lucky Charm is an absolute masterpiece. Hold this one in your pocket for a while. If you aren’t drawn in already, you will be.
Keep up with The Brookses here.
spoony bard, old friends
Old Friends – the new album from spoony bard – is out now, and it has everything an experimental music lover could ever want. With Kid Cudi-esque melodies and Earl Sweatshirt flow, spoony bard is the alter-ego of musician David Nord. Rap, funk, electronic, and a multitude of other genres and sounds can be discovered in Old Friends, perfectly displaying spoony bard’s range and influences.
With references to Game of Thrones, food, and pro skateboarders, the opening track “ego trippin par 99” hits hard, setting the tone for the rest of the album. The following tracks have their own unique feel, no two being similar in sound or scope. If I had to make any artistic comparison, it would have to be if you took Gorillaz and threw in Kid Cudi as their frontman. Dash in some more traditional funk and 90’s rap and you get spoony bard, an artist not afraid to push boundaries, both sonically and lyrically.
Old Friends is out now on all major platforms. Keep up with spoony bard on his socials. Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter