Like a tight pair of jeans, we are breaking this new site in….especially in that pesky crotch area. New posts will start next week. We will be working over the next few days to update and iron out all the kinks. Growing pains are happening but it’s all for the best. Stay tuned.

(Update: We are redirecting back to the WordPress URL while we work on the new site this weekend. Thanks for the patience.)

With Hatchet, Pike And Gun “The Greater Good” (Self-Released)

Can you feel the rhythm in your bones? That particular lyric from With Hatchet, Pike & Gun’s “The Truth About Love & Hate” speaks to the overall power of the band’s debut EP, The Greater Good. There is a bubbling up beneath the surface of With Hatchet, Pike & Gun’s music. The band is reminiscent of The Colour Revolt in many ways. Thematically and lyrically the two bands mirror each other. However, WP&G offer a more unpolished take on this forceful brand of rock. The opening refrain of opener “The Hands” sets the tone. Set up your idols/polish them off/get on your knees/idolotry is okay with me/just as long as I am making my money! Dark religious and societal themes give The Greater Good a heavy burden but one the band is able to carry. WHP&G are also able to dial it down for a few songs. “Maternal Instincts” echoes the somber grace and bitterness of some of the best David Bazan/Pedro The Lion material. Two other bands that come to mind are Shiner and perhaps a less mathy version of the great Roadside Monument. Needless to say, WHP&G keep good company. Album closers “Slither” and “We Disagree” combine both facets of the band’s musical prowess perfectly. These tracks showcase a remarkable progression and what this band is capable of when at their best. The Greater Good shines a light on the dirtiness of the world. It may not always be pretty but life rarely is.

Genre: Indie/Rock

RIYL: The Colour Revolt, Pedro The Lion, Roadside Monument

Slither

www.myspace.com/hatchetpikeandgun

New Brookland Tavern

7pm Doors

$6 Over 21 / $8 Under 21
All Ages

Benefit Show for Children’s Miracle Network Benefit:

Look Mexico

The Valkyrie
The Black Sheep
Zach Fowler and The Essentials

BEST NEW MUSIC

Foals “Antidotes” (Sub Pop)

Lesson #1 when trying to gather hype for a band. Release as much stuff as you can before you release a debut full-length. Cause when you release that debut full-length you simply can not hide behind only 1 or 2 songs anymore. Lesson #2 sign to a big indie label like Merge, Matador or maybe even Sub Pop. Lesson #3 make sure you hire a high-profile indie producer for that debut-full length so he can mask all your deficiencies. Perhaps you can even find one who is already in a hip indie band like David Sitek from TV On The Radio. Lesson #4 let him produce the record but reject his final mix for the album. It creates intrigue and controversy. It is all about stirring the pot! Lesson #5 include those hit singles that got you where you are as bonus tracks on the album. I mean, they haven’t been heard enough already, right?

Perhaps I am being a bit too harsh with my assessment. The point is that I can definitely see why people might be hating on Foals. The ingredients are certainly present. But, as much as I wanted to dislike Foals’ debut full-length album, Antidotes, it just never happened. With every listen, the band won me over more and more. Foals do more with less than any band I can recall. The band has only two speeds yet, the tracking of the album is so on point that the listener hardly notices the band’s lack of tempo shifts. David Sitek should be commended as his organic production adds a great deal of depth to the band’s brand of jittery pop. The instrumental additions of horns and organ give ample weight to the band’s often monochromatic sounds. Foals are able to wrap their songs with a unique repetition that hypnotizes the listener. Before you know it, 14 songs and nearly an hour of music has gone by. No matter what style, tempo or angle Foals choose to attack from, they are successful more times than not. So, ignore the naysayers, Foals do indeed have the antidote for boring indie rock.

Genre: Indie/Dance/Punk

RIYL: Bloc Party, The Futureheads, Gang Of Four

Balloons

www.myspace.com/foals

We are switching back to the old format until the new site is up. All you complainers can rejoice!

Until the new site is ready to go, it will be SLOW around SAL.

I apologize ahead of time if the site experiences any down time…it is bound to happen.

I have four contributors lined up…still looking for one or two more. Email me (will@soundaslanguage.com) if you are interested.

Along with Get Bent, these are some other pop-influenced punk rock bands that have me going lately. All of them have new stuff that was either just released or is about to be released. Check them out.

Dynamite Arrows

Good Luck

Red And Blue (members of Get Bent!)

The State Lottery (ex-Gibbons!)

Traffic & Weather (ex-Gibbons!)

Transit

Young Hearts (ex-Dear Tonight)

Trever Keith “Melancholics Anonymous” (Self-Released)

For people who have followed Face To Face over the years, it sure is wonderful to hear the familiar vocals of Trever Keith once again. As the blitzkrieg of opening track “Cross Your Heart And Hope To Die” blasts from the stereo it feels like a warm embrace from a long lost friend. Melancholics Anonymous is Keith’s unfortunately titled solo debut. Thankfully, the album sheds the singer/songwriter tag, instead going for a full band approach the majority of the time.

It becomes apparent half-way through Melancholics Anonymous that the album owes a great deal to Face To Face’s most controversial release. The ill-received 1999 album, Ignorance Is Bliss, was the band’s attempt to move out of from under the melodic pop/punk constraints. The album was seen as a failure at the time by many fans. So much so that the band let the fans pick the songs for the next record which was sarcastically titled, Reactionary. Through the subsequent years though, Ignorance Is Bliss has won quite a few Face To Face fans over, including myself. And fans of that album and Face To Face in general should find a lot to love in finally hearing Keith again on Melancholics Anonymous.

If you study Face To Face’s excellent covers album, 2001’s Standards & Practices, you can really see where the band’s influences were birthed. On that album, the band covered artists as diverse as Jawbreaker and Fugazi to The Smiths and The Psychedelic Furs. On Melancholics Anonymous those influences become even more apparent. The hints of British pop are coated all over Keith’s solo debut. Perhaps the most telling cover of Standards & Practices is Sugar’s “Helpless.” Bob Mould who had previously fronted melodic punk band Hüsker Dü moved into more accessible waters with Sugar’s finely coated pop rock. Keith emulates that movement here as he settles into a successful groove of pop bombast mixed with brit-pop tenderness. It results in an album chock full of alt-rock nuggets.

Despite Face To Face’s recent reunion shows, Melancholics Anonymous prove that Trever Keith will be just fine when he finally decides to leave Face To Face completely in his past. Granted, if you never liked Face To Face then you might want to move on before you start. But, if you ever had a soft spot for the band then you should at least give Keith’s Melancholics Anonymous a try. It might just surprise you.

Genre: Indie/Alternative/Rock

RIYL: Face To Face, Bob Mould, Samiam

Cross Your Heart And Hope To Die

Half Asleep

LaGrecia “My Lightning” (new band from Jason Shevchuk of Kid Dynamite and None More Black)

Annuals “Sore”

Glass And Ashes “Seconds Before The Floor Drops Out”

13ghosts “The Lonely Death of Space Avenger”

The Tim Version “W.H.A.”

Ghost Buffalo “The Latest Wonder”

I Love Math “Josephine Street”

Jr. Juggernaut “Another Two Weeks”

An Horse “Company”

Mt. Wilson Repeater “All Night Every Day”

Oceans performing a new song called “Boy Detective” at the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL last month! Thanks to Jeffrey Kolar for the video. You can now download the band’s awesome 2007 demo from their myspace player. Go ahead…get your broceans on!

Colour Revolt “Plunder, Beg And Curse” (Fat Possum)

Plunder, Beg And Curse is a difficult album to latch onto. Whereas The Colour Revolt’s debut EP was an emotional roller coaster that showcased the band’s penchant for melodies and emotion soaked rhythms, Plunder, Beg And Curse, takes the road less traveled. I am not quite sure what happened with the band’s label deal. The band originally signed to a subsidiary of Interscope to re-release their EP but Plunder, Beg And Curse appears courtesy of blues gone indie rock label, Fat Possum. And frankly, after listening to Plunder, Beg And Curse, I can tell why a major label would want to stay far, far away. They have no clue how to sell or market a record like this (or any records nowadays…hehe).

Lyrically, The Colour Revolt have always been anything but light. That theme certainly continues on Plunder, Beg And Curse. The band is displaying some heavy lyrical imagery here. Religious and spiritual tones color the album’s canvas, almost to a fault. There are a few moments, like on the warm, atmospheric tracks “See It” and “Moses Of The South,” where the band chooses to come up for some much-needed air and brief levity. Much of the time though, Plunder, Beg And Curse is cold and suffers under its own weight. The band has a hard time adjusting the tempo and dynamics of their songs as well. Because of all this, Plunder, Beg And Curse struggles to make a lasting impression on the listener.

The Colour Revolt are a challenging band and anyone looking for a cheap thrill from a rock record should definitely look elsewhere. Plunder, Beg And Curse suffers from the band’s complete shunning of what made their debut EP such a breath of fresh air. On the other hand, you have to admire a band seemingly unwilling to compromise their art. It is abundantly clear that Colour Revolt know exactly what they want and they certainly give it a valiant effort on Plunder, Beg And Curse. Perhaps next time, they can meet the listener somewhere in the middle.

Genre: Indie/Americana/Rock

RIYL: Modest Mouse, Archers Of Loaf, Brand New

Naked and Red

A Siren

www.myspace.com/colourrevolt