An online music magazine where I can share information about bands and artists with a nice sound. I'll provide music samples along with album reviews and track reviews which will be entirely based on my personal opinions and music insight. The rating scale will be from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most loved.
"This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization. It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away. Your love will be, safe with me." - Re: stacks - Bon Iver
Source: LAST FM L to R: Jimmy Richards, Justin Richards, Alex Draper.
Brighten is an unsigned indie pop-rock band hailing from Chico, California. The band consists of brothers Justin Richards (lead vocals, guitar) and Jimmy Richards (drums), and Alex Draper (bass, backing vocals).
They independently released their debut EP, Ready When You Are, on November 9, 2005. The EP was very successful and has since sold out.
Lead singer, Justin Richards is now a full-time touring member of A Rocket To The Moon, which consequently has put Brighten on a temporary hiatus. However, Brighten announced in May 2009 on their Myspace that the following month they would begin recording new material with producer Jeff Schneeweis.
The EP is now officially done and is set to release sometime this fall. Despite the new album, Brighten will not be touring to promote it due to A Rocket To The Moon's busy touring schedules. Justin stated that he won't stop doing Brighten but it will rather be "just for fun".
Brighten's long anticipated new EP "Early Love" was released on February 9, 2008. The album combines a perfect mix of contagious melodies and heartfelt lyrics that they have been known for. You may find your mom and dad humming to their songs and even your little sister singing along. "Early Love" satisfies everybody.
Track listing 1. "Carolina" 2. "Easy To Fall In Love" 3. "Love On My Mind" 4. "We Are Birds" 5. "Swing" 6. "Love Me Honestly" 7. "What She Really Wants"
My top 3 favourite tracks off this EP are, "We Are Birds", "Easy To Fall In Love", and "What She Really Wants".
"We Are Birds" - This song makes a reference to The Notebook, when Noah tells Allie, "If you're a bird, then I'm a bird too." It's a great, love tune. The lyrics are a reminiscence of the oldies.
If you're a bird then I'm a bird but if you can't fly then neither will I 'cause then love is not the right time to die. We still have our whole life to be with you and I'm done and make this life a good one.
"Easy To Fall In Love" - It describes how easy it is to fall in love with this specific girl he is describing. The lyrics, again, are warm and heartfelt. Any girl would want someone to write them a song like this one. (One can dream.)
I love when she writes for me and she doesn't even play the piano. She plays it so good, better than I could. Our love gets better everyday with every touch and sound that your voice makes. How did we get here? It's better than last year.
"What She Really Wants" - The song describes how his significant other became a part of him. Once again, witty, heartfelt and a-mazing! lyrics.
Oh she's my music when I'm trying to sleep. When I forget the words she knows everything. But what I really want is to hear her sing. She's my feet when I cannot dance. She just loves it and she doesn't laugh. And what I really love she says I'm not so bad.
~*~
This band gets a ten because their music is out-of-this-world.
Seabear is an indie-folk band hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, signed with Morr Music. Although the band is Icelandic, their songs are primarily in English.
Seabear was first a one-man project of Sindri Sigfússon. However, he eventually ended up recruiting six other members: Uðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir, Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, Halldór Ragnarsson, Örn Ingi Ágústsson, Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason & Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
Their music is for the most part subdued and mellow folk pop, with some piano, violin, acoustic guitar and atmospheric vocals. It's like summer, drinking cold lemonade on a hot day, chilling with your friends in your backyard, sort of feel.
They released their first full-length album, The Ghost That Carried Us Away, in Autumn 2007 under Morr Music. Sindri also has an solo-artist EP under the name Seabear entitled Singing Arc EP.
Seabear has announced on their Myspace that they are currently working on a new album which they hope to release in early Spring 2010.
What I love most about this album is that it is very versatile. If the weather's sunny and warm, it suits it perfectly, and even if the weather's dark and cloudy, it remains appropriate.
My all-time favourite track is "I Sing, I Swim". The lyrics are cute and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Here's an awesome video of their song, "I Sing, I Swim":
Source: NME Online Magazine L to R: Pat Kirch, Jared Monaco, John O'Callaghan, Kennedy Brock, Garrett Nickelsen
The Maine is an American pop rock band signed with Fearless Records in 2007. Hailing from Tempe, Arizona, the band consists of five members: John O'Callaghan (a.k.a. John Ohh, lead vocals), Garrett Nickelsen (bass), Kennedy Brock (rhythm guitar & back-up vocals), Jared Monaco (lead guitar) and Pat Kirch (drums).
The band released their sophomore EP, The Way We Talk EP, in December 2007. Their debut EP included a cover of Akon's hit song, "I Wanna Love You". The Way We Talk EP debuted at #6 on the iTunes Top 100 Alternative Chart and shot to #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, selling 30,000 albums in a less than six months.
Shortly after, the group immediately began their first full-length album. They headed into the studio with multi-platinum music producer, Matt Squire. Can't Stop, Won't Stop was released on July 8, 2008. Their first single off the record was "Everything I Ask For", which was also their first ever recorded music video. The album reflects on relationships and life in general, focusing on the good times and the tough times. A deluxe version of Can't Stop, Won't Stop, along with a digital documentary called "In Person" was released on July 14, 2009.
The Maine spent the summer of 2008 touring alongside Metro Station, Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls on the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour. I had the opportunity to see them live in August that summer and it was amazing. Despite their very short set list, I enjoyed every waking moment of their performance.
Two weeks prior, they performed on the Vans Warped Tour 2008.
On December 9, 2009, The Maine released a holiday EP titled "...And A Happy New Year" which included a cover of Wham!'s song "Last Christmas", their own songs called, "Santa Stole My Girlfriend", "Mr. Winter" and "Ho Ho Hopefully" which they originally collaborated with the band and close friends Brighten.
They continued touring in February and March 2009. In the summer of this year, they played on the Hurley Stage at the Vans Warped Tour 2009.
They are currently touring the nation with Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, A Rocket To The Moon, and VersaEmerge on the OP Presents! Tour.
Although many of their fans have considered their musical inspiration to be based upon girls, relationships and their make-ups and break-ups, John O'Callaghan stated in an interview, that their songs "are more about going through life and experience, and figure yourself out as a young person, and the same time falling in and out of relationships."
1. "Everything I Ask For" 2. "We All Roll Along" 3. "Girls Do What They Want" 4. "I Must Be Dreaming" 5. "Into Your Arms" 6. "Time to Go" 7. "This Is the End" 8. "Whoever She Is" 9. "Count 'Em One, Two, Three" 10. "Kiss and Sell" 11. "You Left Me" 12. "We'll All Be..."
My top 5 favourite tracks off this record are We All Roll Along, I Must Be Dreaming, Into Your Arms, Whoever She Is and We'll All Be...
Listen to... "We All Roll Along": It'll remind you of your high school years or your youth and the people who surrounded you during that time of your life. It's mostly about nostalgic and reminiscence.
"I remember every day that I spent dreaming of leaving this place behind I would run away from thinkin'. Adding up all the days spent wasted. Chasing the girls we hated. Some things, they, they never change. Take me back to the sleepless nights, the stupid fights. It never mattered who was wrong or who was right. You're all a part of me."
"I Must Be Dreaming": Could remind you about your first real relationship and/or "love". (Aww!)
"Remember the day when we started this. And she made the shape of my heart with her hands. We tried to make some sense of it."
"Into Your Arms": About an unstable relationship, that's slowly falling apart.
"Oh she's slippin' away. I always freeze when I'm thinking of words to say. All the things she does, make it seem like love. If it's just a game. (Just a game) Then I like the way that we play."
"Whoever She Is": About the girl or the guy (if you change the lyrics around). It basically tries to explain that the person you're looking for might just be right in front of you.
"She could be rainy days, minimum wage, a book that ends with no last page Whoever she is, whoever she may be, one thing's for sure, you don't have to worry."
"We'll All Be...": About youth, your fun teenage years and whoever you were surrounded by. It also describes the good moments that took place at the time.
"Oh each day's a number, but we can't forget last summer when we say we do, we're on to the end. Go on and sing it out, our days are numbered, we know we're not gettin' any younger. But it's nights like these that make you not really care."
Source: Photobucket L to R: John Keefe, Martin Johnson, Bryan Donahue, Paul DiGiovanni
Boys Like Girls is an American rock band signed with Columbia Records and Red Ink. I started listening to them in 2005 when I was exploring (you could say) different genres of music. I have been a fan ever since. The band originally from Boston, Massachusetts consists of Martin Johnson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Paul DiGiovanni (lead guitar), Bryan Donahue (bass) and John Keefe (drums). The boys gained recognition after their self-titled debut album, Boys Like Girls, was released on August 22, 2006.
Shortly after, Boys Like Girls completed their first headlining tour, supported by Permanent Me and Scenes from A Movie in August and September, before heading out on an East coast tour, opening for Lostprophets and Eighteen Visions throughout October. For the next four years and a half, the band toured constantly with various bands from North America to Europe to Asia promoting their first record.
Low and behold, on February 10, 2009, devoted Boys Like Girls fans (i.e. me) were thrilled when Martin Johnson announced on his personal blog, Martin Says, that the band had started recording half of their second album in Vancouver and would later on record the other half in New York city. The album was recorded in two different countries because there were "two different producers/production teams, two different environments, and two different styles of inspiration", stated Johnson.
The new album, Love Drunk, hit shelves on September 8, 2009 and is now available worldwide on Itunes. All lyrics were written by frontman, Martin Johnson, himself.
Track listing 1. "Heart Heart Heartbreak" 2. "Love Drunk" 3. "She's Got a Boyfriend Now" 4. "Two is Better than One" (featuring Taylor Swift) 5. "Contagious" 6. "Real Thing" 7. "Someone Like You" 8. "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" 9. "The First One" 10. "Chemicals Collide" 11. "Go"
Love Drunk is even more appetizing than their first album and was definitely worth the wait. Their sound has evolved and contains more substance like explosive shreds and crunchy guitars in terms of more of a rock feel. The album also contains elements from pop from the 80's and rock.
Some songs were designed to hype up the audience and allow them to sing along, for example the "Hey!"s, "Yeah!"s and "Okay!"s from their single, Love Drunk, encourages the fans to interact. They have a catchy tune which you can sing along doing whatever, whenever.
My top 5 favourite tracks off this record are "Two is Better than One" (feat. Taylor Swift), "Someone Like You", "She's Got A Boyfriend", "Chemicals Collide" and "Contagious".
Listen to... Two is Better than One (feat. Taylor Swift): if you are single. I guarantee you will feel entirely depressed by the fact that you are single after listening to the song and its lyrics.
"I remember every look upon your face. The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste. You make it hard for breathing."
Someone Like You: when you forget who you are and where you're going. This song is about figuring out a plan on where to go next.
"My life in the rearview, I'm running from Jesus Don't know where I'm going to. I got nothing to lose, I'm fighting my demons, been looking for someone like you. I've been looking for someone like you."
She's Got A Boyfriend: when you want to be reminded about high school and what you thought of life back then. Or past high school lovers.
"Yeah, maybe we were in high school, but you never see the ending when you're young and not pretending, singing 'Everything's gonna be all right', and everything was gonna be all right."
Chemicals Collide: to bang your head to, sing along, which may result in a possible one man air drumming session.
"When the mornin' is breaking And your heart is shaking I'll remember how it feels right now When we're lost in the moment The sky is exploding Just keep on floating."
Contagious: to bang your head to, sing along. Sometimes all it takes is a catchy tune and witty lyrics to make a song.
"And I know you think I'm crazy, and I dress up like I'm four. I don't do dinner and movies but if I showed up at your door..."
I'm an aspiring writer and a daydreamer who enjoys tea in the afternoon, her iPod playlists and french pastries.
Brighten
Monday, December 28, 2009, 2:20 PM
Rating: 10 out of 10.
Source: LAST FM L to R: Jimmy Richards, Justin Richards, Alex Draper.
Brighten is an unsigned indie pop-rock band hailing from Chico, California. The band consists of brothers Justin Richards (lead vocals, guitar) and Jimmy Richards (drums), and Alex Draper (bass, backing vocals).
They independently released their debut EP, Ready When You Are, on November 9, 2005. The EP was very successful and has since sold out.
Lead singer, Justin Richards is now a full-time touring member of A Rocket To The Moon, which consequently has put Brighten on a temporary hiatus. However, Brighten announced in May 2009 on their Myspace that the following month they would begin recording new material with producer Jeff Schneeweis.
The EP is now officially done and is set to release sometime this fall. Despite the new album, Brighten will not be touring to promote it due to A Rocket To The Moon's busy touring schedules. Justin stated that he won't stop doing Brighten but it will rather be "just for fun".
Brighten's long anticipated new EP "Early Love" was released on February 9, 2008. The album combines a perfect mix of contagious melodies and heartfelt lyrics that they have been known for. You may find your mom and dad humming to their songs and even your little sister singing along. "Early Love" satisfies everybody.
Track listing 1. "Carolina" 2. "Easy To Fall In Love" 3. "Love On My Mind" 4. "We Are Birds" 5. "Swing" 6. "Love Me Honestly" 7. "What She Really Wants"
My top 3 favourite tracks off this EP are, "We Are Birds", "Easy To Fall In Love", and "What She Really Wants".
"We Are Birds" - This song makes a reference to The Notebook, when Noah tells Allie, "If you're a bird, then I'm a bird too." It's a great, love tune. The lyrics are a reminiscence of the oldies.
If you're a bird then I'm a bird but if you can't fly then neither will I 'cause then love is not the right time to die. We still have our whole life to be with you and I'm done and make this life a good one.
"Easy To Fall In Love" - It describes how easy it is to fall in love with this specific girl he is describing. The lyrics, again, are warm and heartfelt. Any girl would want someone to write them a song like this one. (One can dream.)
I love when she writes for me and she doesn't even play the piano. She plays it so good, better than I could. Our love gets better everyday with every touch and sound that your voice makes. How did we get here? It's better than last year.
"What She Really Wants" - The song describes how his significant other became a part of him. Once again, witty, heartfelt and a-mazing! lyrics.
Oh she's my music when I'm trying to sleep. When I forget the words she knows everything. But what I really want is to hear her sing. She's my feet when I cannot dance. She just loves it and she doesn't laugh. And what I really love she says I'm not so bad.
~*~
This band gets a ten because their music is out-of-this-world.
Seabear is an indie-folk band hailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, signed with Morr Music. Although the band is Icelandic, their songs are primarily in English.
Seabear was first a one-man project of Sindri Sigfússon. However, he eventually ended up recruiting six other members: Uðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir, Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, Halldór Ragnarsson, Örn Ingi Ágústsson, Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason & Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
Their music is for the most part subdued and mellow folk pop, with some piano, violin, acoustic guitar and atmospheric vocals. It's like summer, drinking cold lemonade on a hot day, chilling with your friends in your backyard, sort of feel.
They released their first full-length album, The Ghost That Carried Us Away, in Autumn 2007 under Morr Music. Sindri also has an solo-artist EP under the name Seabear entitled Singing Arc EP.
Seabear has announced on their Myspace that they are currently working on a new album which they hope to release in early Spring 2010.
What I love most about this album is that it is very versatile. If the weather's sunny and warm, it suits it perfectly, and even if the weather's dark and cloudy, it remains appropriate.
My all-time favourite track is "I Sing, I Swim". The lyrics are cute and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Here's an awesome video of their song, "I Sing, I Swim":
Source: NME Online Magazine L to R: Pat Kirch, Jared Monaco, John O'Callaghan, Kennedy Brock, Garrett Nickelsen
The Maine is an American pop rock band signed with Fearless Records in 2007. Hailing from Tempe, Arizona, the band consists of five members: John O'Callaghan (a.k.a. John Ohh, lead vocals), Garrett Nickelsen (bass), Kennedy Brock (rhythm guitar & back-up vocals), Jared Monaco (lead guitar) and Pat Kirch (drums).
The band released their sophomore EP, The Way We Talk EP, in December 2007. Their debut EP included a cover of Akon's hit song, "I Wanna Love You". The Way We Talk EP debuted at #6 on the iTunes Top 100 Alternative Chart and shot to #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, selling 30,000 albums in a less than six months.
Shortly after, the group immediately began their first full-length album. They headed into the studio with multi-platinum music producer, Matt Squire. Can't Stop, Won't Stop was released on July 8, 2008. Their first single off the record was "Everything I Ask For", which was also their first ever recorded music video. The album reflects on relationships and life in general, focusing on the good times and the tough times. A deluxe version of Can't Stop, Won't Stop, along with a digital documentary called "In Person" was released on July 14, 2009.
The Maine spent the summer of 2008 touring alongside Metro Station, Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls on the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour. I had the opportunity to see them live in August that summer and it was amazing. Despite their very short set list, I enjoyed every waking moment of their performance.
Two weeks prior, they performed on the Vans Warped Tour 2008.
On December 9, 2009, The Maine released a holiday EP titled "...And A Happy New Year" which included a cover of Wham!'s song "Last Christmas", their own songs called, "Santa Stole My Girlfriend", "Mr. Winter" and "Ho Ho Hopefully" which they originally collaborated with the band and close friends Brighten.
They continued touring in February and March 2009. In the summer of this year, they played on the Hurley Stage at the Vans Warped Tour 2009.
They are currently touring the nation with Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, A Rocket To The Moon, and VersaEmerge on the OP Presents! Tour.
Although many of their fans have considered their musical inspiration to be based upon girls, relationships and their make-ups and break-ups, John O'Callaghan stated in an interview, that their songs "are more about going through life and experience, and figure yourself out as a young person, and the same time falling in and out of relationships."
1. "Everything I Ask For" 2. "We All Roll Along" 3. "Girls Do What They Want" 4. "I Must Be Dreaming" 5. "Into Your Arms" 6. "Time to Go" 7. "This Is the End" 8. "Whoever She Is" 9. "Count 'Em One, Two, Three" 10. "Kiss and Sell" 11. "You Left Me" 12. "We'll All Be..."
My top 5 favourite tracks off this record are We All Roll Along, I Must Be Dreaming, Into Your Arms, Whoever She Is and We'll All Be...
Listen to... "We All Roll Along": It'll remind you of your high school years or your youth and the people who surrounded you during that time of your life. It's mostly about nostalgic and reminiscence.
"I remember every day that I spent dreaming of leaving this place behind I would run away from thinkin'. Adding up all the days spent wasted. Chasing the girls we hated. Some things, they, they never change. Take me back to the sleepless nights, the stupid fights. It never mattered who was wrong or who was right. You're all a part of me."
"I Must Be Dreaming": Could remind you about your first real relationship and/or "love". (Aww!)
"Remember the day when we started this. And she made the shape of my heart with her hands. We tried to make some sense of it."
"Into Your Arms": About an unstable relationship, that's slowly falling apart.
"Oh she's slippin' away. I always freeze when I'm thinking of words to say. All the things she does, make it seem like love. If it's just a game. (Just a game) Then I like the way that we play."
"Whoever She Is": About the girl or the guy (if you change the lyrics around). It basically tries to explain that the person you're looking for might just be right in front of you.
"She could be rainy days, minimum wage, a book that ends with no last page Whoever she is, whoever she may be, one thing's for sure, you don't have to worry."
"We'll All Be...": About youth, your fun teenage years and whoever you were surrounded by. It also describes the good moments that took place at the time.
"Oh each day's a number, but we can't forget last summer when we say we do, we're on to the end. Go on and sing it out, our days are numbered, we know we're not gettin' any younger. But it's nights like these that make you not really care."
Source: Photobucket L to R: John Keefe, Martin Johnson, Bryan Donahue, Paul DiGiovanni
Boys Like Girls is an American rock band signed with Columbia Records and Red Ink. I started listening to them in 2005 when I was exploring (you could say) different genres of music. I have been a fan ever since. The band originally from Boston, Massachusetts consists of Martin Johnson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Paul DiGiovanni (lead guitar), Bryan Donahue (bass) and John Keefe (drums). The boys gained recognition after their self-titled debut album, Boys Like Girls, was released on August 22, 2006.
Shortly after, Boys Like Girls completed their first headlining tour, supported by Permanent Me and Scenes from A Movie in August and September, before heading out on an East coast tour, opening for Lostprophets and Eighteen Visions throughout October. For the next four years and a half, the band toured constantly with various bands from North America to Europe to Asia promoting their first record.
Low and behold, on February 10, 2009, devoted Boys Like Girls fans (i.e. me) were thrilled when Martin Johnson announced on his personal blog, Martin Says, that the band had started recording half of their second album in Vancouver and would later on record the other half in New York city. The album was recorded in two different countries because there were "two different producers/production teams, two different environments, and two different styles of inspiration", stated Johnson.
The new album, Love Drunk, hit shelves on September 8, 2009 and is now available worldwide on Itunes. All lyrics were written by frontman, Martin Johnson, himself.
Track listing 1. "Heart Heart Heartbreak" 2. "Love Drunk" 3. "She's Got a Boyfriend Now" 4. "Two is Better than One" (featuring Taylor Swift) 5. "Contagious" 6. "Real Thing" 7. "Someone Like You" 8. "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" 9. "The First One" 10. "Chemicals Collide" 11. "Go"
Love Drunk is even more appetizing than their first album and was definitely worth the wait. Their sound has evolved and contains more substance like explosive shreds and crunchy guitars in terms of more of a rock feel. The album also contains elements from pop from the 80's and rock.
Some songs were designed to hype up the audience and allow them to sing along, for example the "Hey!"s, "Yeah!"s and "Okay!"s from their single, Love Drunk, encourages the fans to interact. They have a catchy tune which you can sing along doing whatever, whenever.
My top 5 favourite tracks off this record are "Two is Better than One" (feat. Taylor Swift), "Someone Like You", "She's Got A Boyfriend", "Chemicals Collide" and "Contagious".
Listen to... Two is Better than One (feat. Taylor Swift): if you are single. I guarantee you will feel entirely depressed by the fact that you are single after listening to the song and its lyrics.
"I remember every look upon your face. The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste. You make it hard for breathing."
Someone Like You: when you forget who you are and where you're going. This song is about figuring out a plan on where to go next.
"My life in the rearview, I'm running from Jesus Don't know where I'm going to. I got nothing to lose, I'm fighting my demons, been looking for someone like you. I've been looking for someone like you."
She's Got A Boyfriend: when you want to be reminded about high school and what you thought of life back then. Or past high school lovers.
"Yeah, maybe we were in high school, but you never see the ending when you're young and not pretending, singing 'Everything's gonna be all right', and everything was gonna be all right."
Chemicals Collide: to bang your head to, sing along, which may result in a possible one man air drumming session.
"When the mornin' is breaking And your heart is shaking I'll remember how it feels right now When we're lost in the moment The sky is exploding Just keep on floating."
Contagious: to bang your head to, sing along. Sometimes all it takes is a catchy tune and witty lyrics to make a song.
"And I know you think I'm crazy, and I dress up like I'm four. I don't do dinner and movies but if I showed up at your door..."
À propos d'elle
I'm an aspiring writer and a daydreamer who enjoys tea in the afternoon, her iPod playlists and french pastries.