Awesome Underground &#9733; Music Review

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Monday, June 20, 2016

YELLOWCARD / ATREYU: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

Yellowcard is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and based out of Los Angeles. Current band members include Ryan Key (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano),
Sean Mackin (violin, vocals), Ryan Mendez (lead guitar, backing vocals), Josh Portman (bass guitar)
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California formed in 1998. Current band members include Alex Varkatzas (lead and unclean vocals), Dan Jacobs (lead guitar, backing vocals), Travis Miguel (rhythm guitar), Marc McKnight (bass, backing vocals), Brandon Saller (drums, clean vocals, percussion, guitars, piano, programming, keyboard, strings)

Yellowcard is a band that so many people know and love. And I'm the same way in some sense. I hold some of their older songs dear to my heart, but the more they put out, the further they move away from the sound that I adore. "Empty Apartment" is probably my favorite track of theirs. "Southern Air" was a bit of a letdown for me. I felt like their sound and their lyrical content changed a ton in that album. However, I found "Lift a Sail" to be far more enjoyable. It's not the exact same sound as they had in "Ocean Avenue" but it's definitely reminiscent of it.

Atreyu is a band that I always thought would be perfect minus the screams. With every single song I listen to of theirs, I fall in absolute love... until the screams start. It's not that I'm always opposed to screaming, it's just that I don't care for their type of screams and I don't feel like it adds anything to the sound. Instrumentally, they're brilliant. Vocally, they're brilliant. Even lyrically, they're good. This is a band that a ton of people absolutely love. I really feel like they're perfect to be on Warped Tour.

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Sunday, June 19, 2016

WE THE KINGS / EMAROSA / SECRETS: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

We the Kings is an American rock band from Bradenton, Florida. Band members include Travis Clark (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Hunter Thomsen (lead guitar, backing vocals), Danny Duncan (drums, percussion), Charles Trippy (bass guitar), Coley O'Toole (keyboards, backing vocals, rhythm guitar). Emarosa is an American post-hardcore band from Lexington, Kentucky. Band members include ER White (lead guitar), Jordan Stewart (keyboards), Bradley Walden (lead vocals), Marcellus Wallace (rhythm guitar, backing vocals). SECRETS is an American post-hardcore band from San Diego, California. Band members include Michael Sherman (lead guitar), Richard Rogers (lead vocals, rhythm guitar clean vocals), Joe English (drums), Wade Walters (bass, unclean vocals)

We the Kings is like pop/rock and it's cutesy love songs and fantastic instrumental elements with a matching lovely vocalist. I do really enjoy a lot of their music. My favorites include: "Check Yes, Juliet" and "Say You Like Me." I would definitely say there is a larger element of pop with this group than rock. This is a feel-good band, which is perfect for summer tour!

Secrets is a lot heavier than I usually care for, and I have seen them live. Not to say that they weren't a good live band, but my favorite part of that show was the audience. Their fans were really enjoying the show they put on. Like I said, they're on the heavy side for me and I'm not a big fan of the type of screams they do, but that doesn't make them not talented. They're just not the right band for me. if you like super heavy music, you'll probably love this band.

Emarosa
The first time I heard this band was live at warped (and I think it was 2014). I really enjoyed them live. So much so that I took the time to save a note in my phone to listen to them later. Which I never did (until now). WHY DIDN'T I DO THAT?! I absolutely love this music! The vocalist is perfect and the guitar is magical and the lyrics are even great! There are moments of funk. In one song, the drums sound like they're on the outside for a second, surrounding the track and creating a feeling of helplessness. They have catchy beats and every instrument falls in line, interlocking and playing off of one another, as every band should (but not all that many do). This creates an amazing complete sound.

WE THE KINGS LINKS:

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SECRETS LINKS:

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Actual Mail: P.O. Box 424 Gruetli-Laager, TN 37339

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WATERPARKS: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

Waterparks is an American pop punk band formed in Houston, Texas in 2011.

Waterparks:
They classify themselves as "most things"
I hear a nod to old punk, which I always love to hear. Old school punk is possibly one of my greatest loves. However, it's also mixed in with some futuristic techno effects and solid rock riffs. So, perhaps "most things" is accurate, at least within the broader genre label of "Rock"
They seem to be tossing around hints from a few different subgenres, which is brilliant.
The thing I enjoy least about this band is the vocalist. I don't care for the way he annunciates some words and his voice just isn't anything spectacular in my opinion. He gets choppy a lot and I really just don't enjoy choppy vocals. And perhaps, that's my greatest reason for not being too enthusiastic about this vocalist. However, it does fit well with the largest portion of their sound: old school punk. I really love this band's overall sound, though!

Waterparks Links:

iTunes

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CAPSIZE / HAIL THE SUN: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

Capsize is a melodic Hardcore band from southern California. Hail the Sun is an American post-hardcore band from Chico, California that combines progressive elements with post-hardcore music. Both are a great addition to the 2016 Warped Tour line-up.

Capsize:
Capsize is just to heavy for me vocally. Screams throughout entire songs is not something I've ever cared for. There are some brilliant instrumental moments in some of their songs, but altogether, this band just isn't for me. They fit well with one of the warped band categories, and I know a lot of people love this band. Is it funny to say that I really wanted to love this band because of their name? I've tried several times just because of that, but at the end of the day, they just don't do it for me. Actually, the first time I heard of this band was at Masquerade in Atlanta, when I went to see I the Mighty and Too Close to Touch on the Hands Like Houses tour. I the Mighty's merch dude was wearing a Capsize shirt. And I thought to myself, I bet this guy has great taste in music, I'm going to have to look up this band! As it turns out, this band didn't really fit for me, but instrumentally, they do have a sound that I love. So, I think most people who enjoy the heavier stuff will really love this band.

Hail the Sun:

Hail the sun: I listened to for the first time a long time ago because they were touring with I the Mighty. I decided right away that I wasn't interested. However, they really hooked me live. They put on a great show. And I'm still adamant in the fact that there are some songs in their discography that are for me. But when I went back to give them a second listen, I found what I had found previously: their sound and their lyrics are just not for me. This is definitely a talented group of musicians and they put on a fantastic live show. If you enjoy their music at all, I would suggest not missing them at Warped. They surely are above par live.

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Thursday, June 9, 2016

MAYDAY PARADE / GHOST TOWN / BROADSIDE: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

Ghost Town, Mayday Parade, and Broadside are all part of the Warped Tour 2016 lineup. In this video, I review each of these bands. Mayday Parade is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. Band members include Brooks Bett (rhythm guitar), Jake Bundrick (drums, percussion), Alex Garcia (lead guitar), Jeremy Lenzo (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Derek Sanders (lead vocals, piano). Ghost Town is an American electronic rock band from Los Angeles, California. Band members include: Kevin "Kevghost" McCullough (lead vocals), Alix "Alixmonster" Koochaki (guitars, backing vocals), Manny "Mannythedrummer" Dominick (drums, percussion). Broadside is a pop punk band from Richmond, Virginia. Band members include Ollie Baxxter (vocals), Niles Gregory (guitar), Dorian Enrique (guitar), Andrew Dunton (drums), and Pat Diaz (bass)

Ghost Town is a long time favorite of mine. I'll admit that their dive deeper into the rock side of things had me excited at first. But honestly, their lyrical context in their most recent album "Evolution" really let me down. The sound is great, as always. And the art is amazing as well. Ghost Town has always made songs about real life situations masked in a creepy topic, with a creepy image. The artistry is what I've always loved about this band. They are absolutely unique, and very good at what they do. And when they got signed, I got worried. I know what record labels do. They worry about making money, not about making art... because they're a business, and businesses have to make money. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see no large influence from Fueled by Ramen on "The After Party" aside from some rad promotion. This made me happy, this band I love would remain true to themselves. But with "Evolution" there are clear demographic, target audience, and gimmick influences. So much so, that the entire album is targeted directly at their core demographic. Not that I blame them for being smart in business. And I don't feel like they're less creative. I just feel like their new music isn't as much for me as their older stuff is.

Mayday Parade doesn't require a ton of explanation or elaboration from me. They're popular, and they've been around for quite some time. They have super happy songs, super sad songs, super screw you songs, you super screwed me songs.... all of the songs. Their sound is great and it stays pretty fluent without becoming dull and boring after the gazillionth album. Their newest body of work, "Black Lines" doesn't disappoint. But I have to admit that I still favor picking and choosing songs from each of their albums rather than listening to any single one of them straight through.

Broadside is a new love of mine, and thank you, Spotify for that. The Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify has really become a great friend of mine. If you know anything about me, you know that I crave hearing something new to fall in love with. This playlist is very good at delivering that to me. They're pop punk rock through and through. The only thing that I don't like about this band is something that hurts them, and not me. They need a serious lesson in branding because they are not easy to find on any forum! They seem to have done pretty well for themselves, as they have made it to being one of the advertised bands on the Warped Tour lineup. But imagine how far they could come if they had a more solid and consistent form of branding. There is no logo that I could find, they aren't straight forward with their social media links (nothing is /broadside or /broadside band) and it actually was a chore for me to find them. I was up for that challenge, but most people are far too lazy to bother. I see that they're signed to Victory Records... why isn't their label helping them out with this?!

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Broadside Links:

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Tuesday, June 7, 2016

TOO CLOSE TO TOUCH: WARPED TOUR 2016 ► BAND REVIEW

Too Close to Touch had to be the first Warped Tour 2016 band for me to talk about because they're my favorite on the lineup. Too Close to Touch is an American rock band from Lexington, Kentucky. Band members include: Keaton Pierce (vocals), Kenneth Downey (drums, percussion), Mason Marble (guitars), Thomas Kidd (guitars), and Travis Moore (bass guitar).

The first time I heard this band was opening for I the Mighty on Connectour.
Their sound is great, but what I really fell in love with was the way Keaton walked out into the crowd, placing his hand on peoples shoulders and singing to them individually. And the way Kenny reminded me of a cartoon with his over exaggerated but super adorable facial expressions.
I went online and checked them out the instant I got home. Already head over heels before even clicking play but every track on the album Nerve Endings is fabulous! My favorite is "The Deep End"

How does it make me feel? sunshine and summer, but also stick it to them. I listen to this album when I need a good pick me up. But it also helps to work out rage.

Album's strengths: it flows perfectly

Pretty Little Thing: This track has a super poppy hook that warms my soul. Even though the lyrics are about a toxic relationship, it's upbeat. It doesn't feel contradictory, though. It feels like "Hey, I realize that you're bad for me, and I'm fine with being without you. Good-bye!"

Perfect World: I feel like they placed this song so well. Because sometimes, even if you realize that a relationship isn't right for you, later on a sadness sets in. And even if you don't really want that person back, you want them to want you back. So, I feel like it coming directly after Pretty Little Thing, which is pretty much an "adios, you're crazy" track, is perfect placement.

The Deep End: Hands down my favorite track on this album. The magnitude of the feelings it creates for me are unreal.

Until I Collapse: This song was the perfect ending to the album, and to hear them perform it live is something magical. It feels like the end. Like breathlessness after something strenuous.

This band reminds me of The Wedding in their style, sound, enthusiasm, and stage presence.

Video Review

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