For Today - Breaker Album Review

I received a lot of flack for this review. I'd been highly critical of the band in the past and considering that, in my opinion, they had not really progressed much since their formation, my criticisms did not wane. It's interesting to see how polarizing any Christian hardcore or metalcore band can be. I suppose it's that way with any Christian or religious subject, but there is so much blind defense of bad religious metalcore bands that it sort of baffles me. And I know that many bands exploit being "Christian" in order to gain exposure and make money because of this, regardless of talent. I stand by this album and band being completely generic and, in many cases, just downright bad. This was originally published on August 18, 2010.

Frankly, I’m pretty surprised that For Today has made it to a third album. Considering that their debut from two years ago, Ekklesia, was about as unlistenable as a metalcore album can get and their follow up, Portraits, was only slightly better (which means it was still predominantly terrible), all signs pointed to the band fading away. They didn't, though, and with Breaker we see For Today changing their sound slightly, but unfortunately not really becoming that much more engaging. For every small improvement they made, they had an equally notable negative change.

To start, this album has some horrible flow. Of the 12 tracks on the album you have 3 poetry readings that are from one written work, but broken up throughout the album. I’m not sure what the point of this was, but it leaves you with only 9 actual songs, one of them being the culmination of the poetry readings into a very blasé album closer that sounds like a collaboration between Amy Grant and Sleeping Giant in full-on “I love God and so should you and I’m going to overtly tell you why” mode. Maybe the band was running short on material, which I could see as plausible since most of what is here is formulaic and basic, leading me into discussing the biggest issue this album has--a lack of anything interesting.

On their sophomore album, For Today tried to expand upon their very basic metalcore sound to include some quasi-technical moments, which was admirable and helped them sound less generic. However, on Breaker For Today have tossed aside any aspirations to be technical and instead focused extra hard on trying to be the next August Burns Red or War of Ages. They’ve taken their original, bland metalcore sound and dumped in numerous bass drops, also-ran breakdowns, and a thickening of their guitar tones. This makes them sound “heavier” and will have anyone who is not very judicious about what type of metalcore they listen to stomping along, but it also dumbs down the majority of their songs.

There are a couple of instances where the band tries to do something a bit interesting, but they aren’t enough to salvage the album. “White Flag” makes use of some melodic group vocals in the chorus, which actually provides a nice counterbalance to the breakdown loaded verses. Because of this approach, this track is actually one of the stronger songs on the album and gives a glimpse of what the band can do when they’re not stuck in a rut. “Arm the Masses” has the band collectively picking up the pace towards the end with the vocals being spat out nearly rap-ish like in an angry flutter. This may not be the best idea as it gives the band a somewhat rap-nu-metal sound, but it shows the band stretching, which they desperately need to do. Finally, you have “Phoenix” which starts off with a very straight ahead, solid hardcore passage before the band falls back into metalcore breakdowns. However, the hardcore motif does come back up here and there throughout the remainder of the song.

I want to believe that For Today have a solid album in them somewhere since they’ve shown some glimmers of hope on Breaker, but I’m also wary that they’re too easily drawn to sticking with what they know, which is generic metalcore. They are making incremental steps towards breaking out of their self-imposed boundaries, but if they are this slight every album, it may be another 4 or 5 albums before the band really breaks out. I don’t think that even the most forgiving metalcore addict has that much patience, though.

Congratulations Marathoners, Your Dedication Is Crazy

Runners as they come through mile 14

Over this past weekend the Twin Cities Marathon took place in Minneapolis. Having a couple of friends running it, I went out with my wife and a friend to cheer on runners at various points throughout the race. My wife mapped out when the runners we were cheering on would get to strategic checkpoints that would allow us enough time to cheer them on, drive to the next checkpoint, cheer some more, make our way to the next checkpoint, and so on. It worked out quite well, actually, and instead of cheering on many runners from one spot we were able to cheer on our friends at multiple locations.

As the waves and waves of runners passed by, it was hard not to get caught up in the festivities of the event. I'm not a huge yeller or screamer when it comes to cheering (well, unless it's for a particular person), but seeing the support that all of the spectators were giving to all of the runners was pretty amazing. I know that it's this way for most marathons in cities across the world, but it's so much fun to see it happening in your own back yard.

The Cheer Squad

Watching all of the runners speeding by, I find myself getting caught up thinking to myself, "Self, you could totally do this. Just put in a little training and then during the race just dig deep and DO IT!"  And in years past I tried kicking up my training regiment, but as I tried to sketch out what I would need to do in order to successfully finish a marathon, it is quite daunting and I quickly give up. I've done plenty of 5K and 10K races, even tackling one half-marathon, but a full marathon is beyond scary when I really think about it.

But each one of the runners on the course had put in time, effort, and planning that leaves me in awe. Just talking with my runner friends who do marathons about their workouts, I am envious of their ability to focus on running, putting in the time needed to get in shape, and preparing themselves mentally and physically for what they need to do. I honestly don't think that even if I really, really wanted to that I could actually follow through on everything I'd need to in order to get to the point where I stride through the finish line after 26.2 long, grueling miles. So, runners, I offer up countless kudos to you. I'll always remain in awe of your accomplishments... and silently wish that I had the will to do what you do.

Rick's Discoveries Volume IX

I’m going to be honest. This batch is a mess. There’s no theme, there’s no common connecting thread, and there’s not a lot of genre crossover. This truly is a compilation of what I found worth listening to the last couple of months, regardless of mood or genre. I’ve dove into the dubstep waters, I continue to explore the djent world, then I get back in touch with some post-rock… and let’s not forget to toss in some progressive metal and whatnot for good measure. If this volume of my Discoveries series doesn’t have something for you, I’m pretty sure we don’t have any common musical interests!

††† (Crosses) – EP †

This band’s most famous claim to fame will be that it is the side project of Chino Moreno of Deftones, however, this isn’t an endeavour just for fans of Deftones. No, Crosses is much less Deftones and much more Depeche Mode crossed with Nine Inch Nails with Chino providing vocals. All five tracks on this EP ooze moodiness and atmosphere, which is a perfect backdrop for Chino’s vocal style. Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting much from this EP, but I was completely blown away. I am full of anticipation for a full length from these guys, especially if it’s even half as good as the contents of this EP.

Calista Divine – Calista Divine

Here I am once again finding a great post-rock band and not knowing how to accurately describe them than to compare them to other post-rock bands… anyhow, Calista Divine share many similar traits to post-rock bands that like to add atmosphere to their compositions, such as God Is an Astronaut or Saxon Shore. Sonically, Calista Divine sound much more similar to the former and not as much like the latter, but the feelings elicited are in the same realm. You also get some healthy doses of soaring Explosions in the Sky moments (which, I think, is a pre-requisite for ALL post-rock bands nowadays), and the occasional post-hardcore guitar riff. They’re used sparingly, but effectively.

Heartsounds – Drifter

This album takes me back. I’m reminded of the days when I used to listen to No Trigger, A Wilhelm Scream, Rise Against, and Crime in Stereoover and over again, loving their authentic punk sound. I’m sure many people have heard of Heartsounds after their breakout debut Until We Surrender from 2009, but in case you haven’t they continue playing uncompromising melodic hardcore infused punk. Drifer may not be quite up to the level of their debut, but it is still an extremely solid offering. The only criticism I have is that at time Laura Nichol’s vocals come through as a little weak, but this is a small drawback on a great album.

Turbid North – Orogeny

There is a very epic scope to this album, and to many of the songs on an individual basis as well. Playing a mix of melodic death metal, technical metal, and groove, the band creates a very large sound. By being able to ground their songs in massive, groove and death metal movements, they are able to branch out at appropriate moments to let their technical chops shine. 8 of the 10 tracks clock in at 5+ minutes, with 3 running over 8 and a half minutes each. The songs never drag, however, and the monumental closer is a 12:30 opus that allows the band to truly shine, creating a capstone to an already solid album.

Bassnectar – Divergent Spectrum

Dubstep has really gained a lot of attention the past year or so here in the US and with it, a lot of backlash. There’s quite a lot of hate for the genre out there, mostly with the criticism that it all sounds the same (which is valid to a point). However, there are some solid dubstep entries out there to check out with Divergent Spectrum being one. Unlike a lot of dubstep, Bassnectar doesn’t focus on “the drop.” Instead the songs use elements of dubstep and mix them with breakbeat, house, and hip-hop. This leads to some great songs, especially in the remix realm (the remix of “Lights” byEllie Goulding may be one of my favourite songs of the year), that have longevity and aren’t as in-your-face as a lot of dubstep. Yes, there are a couple of clunkers on here and a couple of songs don’t really go anywhere, but this is definitely one of the better overall dubstep full lengths to hit this year.

Nero – Welcome Reality

This is a another dubstep album. If that isn’t your thing, then continuing moving on. If it is, then this should be a treat. Nero has been playing around in the dubstep/drum & bass/house realm for years, but this is his first official full length release and he brings his A-game with him. Mixing together the big beats and drops dubstep is known for with some luscious vocals, futuristic soundtrack elements, and a variation on regular house themes, Welcome Reality should be a must-get album for anyone looking to find a top-tier dubstep release.

Stand Your Ground – Despondenseas

I’ve read a number of reviews of this band comparing them to The Ghost Inside, Hundredth, and Shai Hulud, so I had an expectation of what I was going to hear coming in to the album and at times I heard exactly what I expected—straight up melodic hardcore—but at other times there were some unexpected tinges of Misery Signals style of metalcore. Yes, for the most part this is really straight-forward melodic hardcore, but every now and again there’s a song on here that will get you to perk up your ears. It’s that promise of potential that draws me back to this album… and I hope they capitalize on it with their next go-round.

Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate

This is the fifth album by the progressive metal band, Anubis Gate, and the level of maturity on display shows that the band has been putting together songs for years. Being a fan of the band, I was a little tepid going into this album since, in the middle of its recording, vocalist Jacob Hansen abruptly left the band. With this change also came a change to the overall approach of the band. Not as concerned with creating lengthy, showy songs, the tracks on this album are a bit meatier (there’s less power metal influence this time around) and feel very tight. The majority of this album also feels catchier than their past releases, no doubt because of the shorter length of many songs. In my mind, this could be Anubis Gate’s best album to date, but it’ll take a few more listens to truly solidify that conclusion. As it stands, this is a very talented band creating a stellar progressive metal album.

Nemertines – Bad Blood

Similar to Dan Dankenmeyer, Nemertines is a one-man djent/progressive band that has put out a significant amount of material in the last couple of years. Bad Blood is the latest in a string of EPs and full lengths that number into the double digits. Unlike many popular djent artists, Nemertines has a somewhat grungier sound, as opposed to a completely mechanical sound. Now I say grungier not to signify the musical genre, but instead to note the dirty, grimy sound some of the songs have. The grooves and riffs are meaty and thick, often offset by keyboards that are much more upbeat in nature, which leads to a nice counterbalance. If you aren’t a fan of instrumental djent-influence progressive metal, this is not going to be something for you, but if it does interest you, this is definitely an artist to keep on your radar.

Thomas Bergersen – Illusions

Every now and again there’s a movie trailer that has an absolutely perfect score underpinning the brief compaction of the contents of a movie into its 2-3 minute running time. It suits the material, is necessarily epic, and builds to the perfect climax, making you want to see the film no matter how terrible it might actually be. Now imagine an album full of, to quote my brother, “epic trailer music” and you have Illusions. I think the proper genre is “neo-classical” or something like that, but really the description of “epic trailer music” works best. From swooning compositions that would fit perfectly behind an Oscar nominee to rousing action-oriented songs to menacing slow-builds, you feel like you should be watching something as you listen to this album. If you crave epic, you crave this album.

The Showdown - Blood in the Gears Album Review

I remember seeing The Showdown many years ago after their first album came out. They were playing at some Christian club with some other Christian metal bands. I wasn't really into their debut, but after seeing them live I thought they were a ton of fun, so I kept up on them throughout their years, watching as they changed their sound in various directions and, eventually, on this album, put all of their soul searching together to finally gel and sound at home in what they created. I still kick this on every now and again when I want some southern swagger in the metal that I listen to. This was originally published on August 13, 2010.

It’s not too much of a stretch to say that The Showdown, through the course of 3 albums, had not yet found their identity. They started out as a pretty solid metalcore band with some death metal and heavy metal influences. On their sophomore effort, though, they completely re-invented themselves as a southern groove metal band. This newfound sound did not go over well with their established fans and didn’t engender themselves to the southern rock crowd since it felt like they were just ripping off Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Then came Back Breaker where they tried to mix their two dissimilar sounds together with very mixed results. They still didn’t seem to feel comfortable in their own skin. After some lineup changes, they’re back with Blood in the Gears and, finally, the band has found their sound.

Maybe it’s the new members. Maybe it’s the fact that Jeremiah Scott, their new bassist, took over a chunk of the writing duties. Or maybe it’s just that the band have finally found the perfect blend of all of the sounds they’ve toyed with over the course of their first 3 albums. Blood in the Gears is a perfect synthesis of their early metalcore/death metal sound and their later career southern swagger. Whereas in the past they never seemed to pull these two genres together cohesively, there are now a number of songs that take everything they do and mix it together successfully. And when they do venture down a path of exploring one direction more than another, they transition from song to song so well that it doesn’t feel forced. The perfect example of this is when they go from the two minute rager “Bring It Down” to the bluesy metal of “Take Me Home”. They go from the one extreme of ripping out blistering thrash solos and death metal inspired metalcore to another where they’re trudging along in a whiskey-soaked blues stomp.

On past albums when the band experimented with their southern sound, it never quite felt authentic. At times they sounded like a biker bar cover band that was trying to branch out and write their own tunes instead of an accomplished metal band trying on a new sound. Here, however, the band sounds just as much at home when they’re getting their southern swagger on as they are when they’re ripping through thrashy solos and metalcore progressions.

As much as the band has matured and succeeded in making one hell of a southern-fried metalcore album, there are a couple of small missteps that should be noted. There are some tracks, notably “No Escape”, where the band let a little too much of an 80s hair metal feel creep in, which is a little out of place, but not enough to completely ruin any songs. The other thing to note is that there are a few moments where David Bunton tries to add some gravel to his singing voice, and it feels a tad forced. You will really notice it on the closer “Diggin’ My Own Grave”, but it creeps up in a few other places as well. However, these are really not very big complaints when looking at the album as a whole.

The Showdown has created a solid mix of southern metal and metalcore that demonstrates what a band can do when they’re firing on all cylinders. For anyone that wrote them off after Temptation Come My Way or Back Breaker, now is the time to come back and give them another shot. They’ve grown, they’ve listened to a ridiculous amount of Pantera, and they’re ready to show you how some good ol’ down south metal should sound.

The Burial - The Winepress Album Review

This is yet another review from when I was pretty much listening to metalcore 24/7. I'm not exactly sure why I was so obsessed with the genre for so long... maybe I was just generally angry, aggressive, or pissed off, but I am hoping that's not the case. Looking back, the vast majority of the bands I listened to in the metalcore genre throughout 2010, including The Burial, I rarely ever actively go back to listening to. If they come up on random, so be it, but I'm not seeking out metalcore to listen to any longer. I've moved more towards the djent and progressive metal realms now... so I'm sure in a year I'll look back and wonder why I was so obsessed with djent bands! This was originally published on August 11, 2010.

The hooks that metalcore bands have used over time to snag an audience’s attention have continually changed as the scene has shifted from one direction to another. Earlier this decade, metalcore became a popular alternative to the nu-metal glut that had overpowered the metal realm. Once metalcore had secured a foothold, however, bands needed something to set them apart. Why not add some melody and clean singing? It worked for a number of bands, and is still widely practiced today, but eventually that hook wasn’t unique enough, so there was a swing to the opposite end of the spectrum—deathcore. Instead of using any type of melody, bands dug deep to be as brutal as possible, but as we all know deathcore is now a dumping ground for crap bands made up of 95 pound, tight jean wearing, suburban Hot Topic kids that just want to seem intense. So what’s next? If the past 6 to 12 months are accurate, the next shift is most likely towards technical metalcore. This retains the heaviness needed to be “brootal” but also tries to show a band has chops. As with any trend, though, you have trend setters and trend followers. The Burial are one of the latter.

On their short, eight track long Strike First debut, The Burial sound more like Mychildren Mybride than The Black Dahlia Murder (and in case you didn’t pick up on it, that’s not a compliment). It’s obvious that The Burial desperately wants to play alongside the big boys of the genre, but they just don’t quite have the talent to do so yet. They have the song progressions down, they know when to toss in solos, and they eschew any ideas of melody, yet the execution of the individual components leaves something to be desired.

In the vocal department David Marshall has a solid, guttural yell that suits the style of music the band is playing, but there is so little variation in his approach that by the time you get to the end of the album, and it’s not that long, you’ll be more than sick of listening to him yell at you in the same exact manner over and over again. There are the occasional layered vocals, but because he doesn’t have much range it doesn’t do anything more than increase the volume and fill of the vocal passage.

Todd Hatfield and Jeff Wright, manning their axes, have a good command of the technical metalcore realm, but there are weaknesses that can be seen throughout the album. Their progressions are solid and the breakdowns do what they need to do, sometimes sounding like they could be outtakes of August Burns Red tracks (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but the solos and sweeps are where you get the feeling some extra polish and practice could have made a difference. Some of the solos feel rushed while others feel slightly out of place. I actually had a hard time finding solos on the album that sounded like they belonged, which is rough considering The Burial want to be in the technical realm.

All is not lost, however, as the band does show promise. Everything noted here can be addressed by the band. With focus, refinement, and development, The Burial can take the template of the genre, which they demonstrate they understand, and use it as a springboard to create something captivating in the genre. At the current moment, when looking solely at The Winepress, however, we see a band struggling to get where they want to be but taking steps to move forward.

To Chicago and New York and Back Again

My view as I flew into Chicago

I haven't given up on blogging shortly after having restarted again (after a couple of years off). No, instead I was trying to keep my head above water last week as I made my to Chicago and then New York for work trips. And, of course, as I'm traveling my usual operational and support workload doesn't lessen... it just gets pushed off, so that's what this week has been focused on catching up with.

Traveling always seems to sap my energy. It's taxing and, as much as I really wanted to do some blogging about Chicago or, especially, New York, I didn't for a couple of reasons. First, I was in meetings most of each day and then at dinners with people from work in the evenings so when I got back to my hotel room it was usually me reading for about 15-20 minutes, trying to scan through email, and then hitting my head to the pillow. Second, I didn't get a chance to really do much in either city. While in Chicago, I wasn't in Chicago proper, but out in Oakbrook Terrace. While in New York, even though I was in the midtown area, I didn't have a chance to go walk around or see anything other than my view from the building we were working in and what I could see in the 5 block area where the path from my hotel to the office led me.

The view of NY from my conference room

It was probably good for me to do some traveling as I haven't in quite some time for work, as I do like seeing new places, but the process of traveling always drives me batty. That, and I truly hate/fear flying. I don't know what it is, well, actually I do (combination of fear of heights and giving up control), but it makes the process of flying very stressful for me. Well, and you can also toss in that flying sometimes is a trigger for my migraines, which again was the case as I flew into Chicago, so that adds to the downside of traveling for me.

Anyways, what I was getting to is that it was good to travel this time around as I got to meet a number of people from our company that I've worked with for years over the phone and through email, but never seen in person. Putting a face, body, and mannerisms to a voice is always great. And I got to see some people I've not seen in a year or two, so from a connections standpoint, it was great. From a work perspective, it was also a good trip. I'm in the process of leading a project for which I've been tasked with some responsibilities not previously given to me, and I want to excel at this as it could be a feather in my cap towards other similar projects. The project, not to be too vague (but I will be) has me more in a project manager and subject matter expert role as opposed to working in a quality assurance role, so it's nice to get some strict PM work as well as doing some business analyst work as time permits.

This project will also be a heavy contributor to keeping me away from blogging as my free time seems to evaporate quite quickly nowadays and the free time I do have I don't always want to be in front of a computer, but maybe that will change as the fall and winter of Minnesota start to force me indoors for more hours of the day. Then again, maybe I'll just hibernate!

In the Midst of Lions - The Heart of Man Album Review

Metalcore, having been a genre I've listened to avidly since its inception, is sort of my safety net, musically. I'm fine to listen to just about anything metalcore and can easily come up with comparisons for bands when necessary, but because I've listened to so much of it, it makes it extremely tough for any new release to live up to the many, many albums I adore from the genre. So even in a situation, like with In the Midst of Lions, where they make a huge leap forward, I'm still cognizant that they're not at the same level as other bands. One of the pitfalls of being around for years, I guess. This was originally published on August 2, 2010.

I was surprised to see a second album being released by In the Midst of Lions, and on Facedown Records no less. Their debut, Out of Darkness, was a sloppy mess with pretty shoddy production and not a lot of promotion given it was released on Strike First Records (Facedown’s test-bed label imprint). Getting some information about The Heart of Man, I read that it was recorded with Jamie King, who we all recognize for his work with Between the Buried and Me, which got me a little more interested. At least the production on the album should no longer be a problem. I was still a bit skeptical, however, since it had only been about a year since In the Midst of Lions’ last album, which didn’t leave a ton of time for the band to grow.

Digging right into The Heart of Man I did notice that, as guessed, the production was much, much better this time around. It gives the band a much more polished sound and was able to cover up some of the band’s weaknesses, but some things still managed to shine through despite the great uptick in production quality. This is predominantly a deathcore album, even though the band pepper songs with some technical death metal chunks. That, unfortunately, starts the band off in the hole since the deathcore genre has become the new trend for every "heavy" band to jump on, much like melodic metalcore and nu-metal before it. Good bands in any genre, however, can overcome the conventions of the genre. Here, however, we see a band trying to do that but not quite getting over the hump.

There are some really great tracks on this album that do show the band has chops and have grown since their previous release, but others continue to feel underdeveloped and sloppy. “Released” shows the band at their best, using all of their talents and weapons to craft a stellar song. The track is quite technical in nature, has well crafted-breakdowns, uses some very melodic guitar lines, and mixes together their standard deathcore vocals with some sparingly and nicely used clean vocals. It’s really a reflection of what the band can do when they focus all of their talents.

But then you have songs like “The Machine”. Ironically, living up to its name, the track feels very mechanical in nature. The verse of the song uses a so very familiar chugging pattern that is a staple in the genre, while the up-tempo movements feel rushed and don’t transition well. Yes, the guitars are shredding along at an insane clip and the drums are pummeling you with triggered blast beats, but they don’t feel like they necessarily go together all that well, despite their blazing speed. The song does close nicely in the final 20 seconds, but that’s really the only saving grace of the song.

Then there are tracks like “Defiance” where they give you something to love, like some well done shredding guitar work and a nice solo, but also bring in some elements that drag the song down, such as the spoken word vocals that just don’t work in this genre. Why ruin a perfectly solid and well written song with such an odd choice for vocals in the latter portion of the song?

The other hang-up I have with this album is the fact that I kept feeling as if the band was playing a little too closely to their influences and stuck strictly to melding deathcore with tech death moments. There was a distinct early career Between the Buried and Me vibe throughout the album, which could just be because of Jamie King’s involvement, but I also felt some moments that reminded me of The Faceless. And there seems to be a distinct division between when the band is in full-on deathcore mode and when they’re in tech death mode. They don’t seem to synthesize the two as well as they could.

Despite these criticisms, In the Midst of Lions have grown quite a bit since their debut, but they do still have a ways to go before really breaking out and turning people’s heads. As it is, The Heart of Man is a solid, if unspectacular, entry into the tech deathcore realm. Genre aficionados will be all over it, I’m sure, but the band will have a hard time making any headway outside of that group for the time being.

Say Like the French Say - This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things Album Review

If I know the people in a band, especially if the is pretty good, I like to try to get them any promotion I can, but I usually refrain from doing full-on album reviews in order to maintain some sense of objectivity. With this review, which was for a friend's band, I had assigned it to another one of Decoy Music's staff to review but the guy flaked and I wanted to get something done up for these guys so I broke one of my rules and reviewed it myself. So if you think that's tossing my objectivity out the door from the get-go, that's fine, but I tried to be as level-headed as possible and, to this day, I still find myself listening to this album every now and again. You can take that for what it's worth. This was originally published on July 13, 2010.

If you’re an indie band and you hail from Minneapolis, MN, it’s pretty much a given that you’re going to have a little bit of Motion City Soundtrack in your music. They’ve had such an impact on the Minnesota indie music scene that it’s hard not to feel the influence they have over the current musical landscape. Thankfully, their influence is just that—an influence. Everyone has their influences—good bands use them to shape and craft their own sound while crappy bands just rip them off. Thankfully, Say Like the French Say only use their influences as springboards for new musical endeavors instead of ripping them off outright.

Throughout This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, the band’s debut album, you’ll hear nods to the aforementioned Motion City Soundtrack, but you’ll also find post-hardcore leanings and mellow, introspective moments throughout. You’ll notice the Motion City Soundtrack comparison most from the vocals and the occasional song structure, but from there the band ventures out into their own musical territory, synthesizing the Minneapolis indie rock sound with what sounds like a healthy dose of Brand New, mid-90s emo, and post-hardcore.

The thick wall of sound approach the band takes on tracks such as “Honestly Honest” and “Cosmonaut” makes them sound huge, almost like a post-hardcore version of early career Jimmy Eat World, a more indie oriented version of Hum, or a male fronted Holy Roman Empire. These large, building moments are when the band are at their best. Beyond the powerful sound they create, the atmosphere of these songs is also quite tangible, having a constrained and controlled mix of anger and angst under the surface.

However, when the band dabble a little too much into a more streamlined indie rock sound, they start to falter a bit. There isn’t the same sense of emotion in songs like “Call the Guards” when compared to the rest of the album. That’s not to say the less post-hardcore oriented tracks aren’t good, but they don’t have quite the same weight. It's almost as if they wanted some "safe" moments on the album to pepper the core of their focus.

Barring the slight misstep noted above, this is a potential-drenched debut album. There are not nearly enough bands trying to recapture the sounds of Jawbox or Sunny Day Real Estate, but Say Like the French Say are doing their damndest to bring that sound back, melding it with the Minneapolis indie rock sound and healthy overtones of post-hardcore.

Gory Dismemberment? That's OK, as Long as You Hide the Boobs

This past week I finished watching The Pacific, the "sequel" to Band of Brothers, both of which are amazing looks at the events of World War II. Most of the criticism of The Pacific said that it was a little more disjointed and less emotionally invested in its characters than Band of Brothers, which I agree with to a point, but the campaign in the Pacific theater seemed much more disjointed and darker than the battle raging in Europe. I loved it just as much as Band of Brothers and would wholeheartedly recommend both if you haven't seen them.

As I was going into my Netflix account to rate The Pacific, I glanced through the member reviews to see what others thought and ended up scratching my head as I read through many of them. A few of the reviews shared the same sentiments I mentioned above, but the overwhelming negative criticism of the mini-series was that there were a couple of scenes where we *gasp* see some boobs. Yes, there are 2-3 scenes where the relationships of our characters and their intimate moments are explored. In truth, there's probably a full total of 5 minutes of nudity in the entire 7-ish hours of the mini-series.

It was so odd to read reviews railing against the series, saying not to watch it, because there were a few scenes of female nudity (nothing overtly explicit even and most of the time things were obscured). It seems like such an odd criticism of a series that has a body count in the hundreds. The action is visceral with no punches pulled. Limbs are violently lost, men scream in their bloody death throes, bodies are utterly dismantled, and you are party to more than a few intense, prolonged, physical, hand-to-hand struggles as a life is slowly extinguished. These are all brutal, harrowing scenes of violence and death, some that will churn your stomach... yet so many people were up in arms over a nipple or two.

To this day, I have trouble understanding this odd disconnect in our culture. Violence, no matter how cringe-worthy, is no big deal, but as soon as you have one nipple on screen or even think about portraying an intimate moment, people want to turn their head or complain or make sure to protect their children from such filth. It's just so weird. Maybe it's the American fetish with violence. Maybe we're all to desensitized. Maybe there's something inherently nefarious about nipples that I don't realize. But if you ask me right now, I think too many people have their priorities mixed up when it comes to what is viewed as more damaging. I know I don't have kids yet, but I somehow imagine that when I do that if I have to pick between allowing my kids to watch brutal violence or a couple expressing their love, I'm going to let love take precedence.

A Fond Farewell to a Furry Family Member

Today the pseudo-mom of Stitch, our cat, moved on to the kitty afterlife (one hopefully filled with catnip, scratching posts, and fluffy pillows in the sunlight to lie on). Looking back, it's hard to imagine 13 years of having Mystique as a member of the family have come and gone already. It doesn't seem like all that long ago Stitch was a baby kitten chilling with Mystique (as you can see below) when I still lived with my parents. Since Stitch was rescued from near certain death as an outdoor cat, he didn't have his actual mom to take care of him, but Mystique was always happy (well, maybe not always) to hang with him and be that kinda-sorta-mommy-cat he needed.

Mystique napping with Stitch when he was a kitten

After I moved away from my parents' house, whenever I would come back home to visit, one of the things I most looked forward to was knowing Mystique would sleep with me at night. I love sleeping with pets... it's oddly comforting, and when I'd visit I would stay on the couch with Karma, my parents' dog, sleeping next to me, and Mystique would either lie on top of me or in the crook of my knee. It was quite the packed couch, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm sure my parents thought I was a little nuts for not sleeping in one of the guest room beds, but staying on the couch guaranteed me some quality resting time with the pets.

It's tough getting attached to pets. Everyone who is a pet person says they're just like a member of the family. I've always tried to brush that statement off, trying to listen to the logic that they're "just pets", but I've spent many loving moments, days, and years with each of mine and my family's pets to know logic is simply wrong in this case. There were so many moments that it's hard not to think of them as little, furry additions to the family. Days where I would want nothing to do with the outside world, couldn't talk to anyone (or didn't want to), and was just down for no particular reason, I would (and still do) always feel 100% comfortable sitting with Stitch or Pooh or Tori, nothing being said, just them being with me and I with them, an unspoken comfort shared between us.

There were a lot of days after college, as I was living with my parents, adjusting to the real world and suffering through the post-college doldrums, that I needed unspoken moments of comfort from Mystique and the other family pets. Even though I've not lived with my parents in years and I haven't been able to visit as much as I used to, I still find myself struggling to accept Mystique's passing in part because I fight change with every fiber of my being, partially because death simply sucks, and partially because I hate the thought of her not being at home the next time I visit, which really bums me the heck out. She was a sweet pet, a very much loved family member, and I will cherish the memories and times we shared. Farewell, Mystique...

Mystique tolerating Stitch's hyper kitten tendencies

The two at rest in their favorite chair